ecessary to get the ship round on the other tack, either by staying or
wearing, so it would be wise to make the attempt while there was still
room to resort to the second expedient, should the first fail.

A few minutes later the mainsail was once more set; and no sooner was
the tack boarded and the sheet dragged aft than we felt the difference,
which was tremendous. For whereas we had before been going along
comfortably enough, despite the heavy rolling and pitching, the moment
that she felt the extra pressure, due to the expansion of this large
area of canvas to the gale, she lay down to it, until at every lee-roll
the muzzles of the quarter-deck guns were buried in the boiling yeast
that foamed and swirled giddily past to leeward, and sometimes surged in
through the ports, filling the lee-scuppers knee-deep with water. And
whereas we had before ridden buoyantly over the head seas, with nothing
worse than an occasional shower of spray flying in over the weather
cathead, the frigate now plunged her bows savagely right into the very
heart of them, quivering to her keel with the violence of the shock,
raising a very hurricane of foam and spray about her figurehead, and
shipping the green seas in tons over her forecastle at every dive, while
the main tack groaned like a giant in torment as it seemed to strive to
tear up the very deck of the ship.

"Keep her clean full, quartermaster, and let her go through it," ordered
the skipper.

"Ay, ay, sir; clean full it is," answered the quartermaster, as he gave
her an extra spoke of the wheel, while the Captain and the first
lieutenant stood together close by the weather bulwarks watching her
behaviour, the latter grasping a speaking-trumpet in his hand.

At length, after some eight or ten minutes of suspense, the skipper
spoke. "Here comes a `smooth,' and now I think you may try her, Mr
Howard."

"Ay, ay, sir," answered the first luff, and, placing the trumpet to his
lips, he shouted, "Hands, 'bout ship!"

_Wee-wee-wee-wheetle-eetle-eetle-we-e-e_, shrilled the boatswains'
pipes, followed by the hoarse bellow of "Hands, 'bout ship!" and up came
the men, hurrying to their several stations. The first lieutenant
paused an instant, flinging a lightning glance fore and aft the deck,
cried "Ready ho!" through his trumpet, then turned to the quartermaster
and said:

"Ease your helm down gently to start with, quartermaster; we will sail
her round as far as we can." Then, kee