gradually died away, while the wind moderated to a steady gale; and it
was by the illumination of the last flash of lightning that we caught
sight of the brig hove-to on the starboard tack, under a storm-staysail,
with her head to the northward. The sight of her thus was a great
relief to me, for it seemed to indicate that we had been fortunate
enough to escape detection, and that we need have no great fear of
interference from her, since the fact of her having hove-to so early
indicated a keen desire on the part of her captain to remain as near as
possible to the coast.

As the night wore on the sea rapidly became higher and more dangerous,
our difficulties and embarrassments increasing in proportion. Our chief
difficulty arose from the necessity to keep the gig in tow, for with the
rising of the sea this speedily became more dangerous to both boats,
from the frequent fierce tugs of the painter that connected the two
boats together. The rope was a new and stout one, and there was not
much fear that the boats would break away from each other, but the
strain set up by the alternate slackening and tautening of the painter,
as first one boat and then the other was urged forward by the 'scend of
the sea, was tremendous, and strained both craft to a positively
dangerous degree. Yet it was not possible for us to cast the gig
adrift, for, had we done so, we should at once have run away from and
lost her in the darkness; that is, unless she had set her own sails, and
this, of course, could not have been done without depriving her of the
protection of them as a covering against the breaking seas, which would
have resulted in her being instantly swamped. But at length matters
became so serious with us both that it was evident that something must
be done, and that very quickly too; for some of the drags were so
violent that they threatened to tear the stern out of the longboat,
which was by this time leaking badly. After considering the matter,
therefore, most carefully, I decided upon a course of procedure that I
hoped might better our condition somewhat. It happened that among the
stores which we had hurriedly stowed away in the longboat when preparing
to leave the schooner was a drum of lamp oil, which we intended to use
in our binnacle lamps at night, and which we thought might perhaps also
prove very useful for other purposes as well, and this I now ordered the
men to find for me. Fortunately it was easy to get at it,