nly watching the behaviour of the
ship as she swept up into the wind, he presently signed with his hand,
"Hard down!" and cried through his trumpet, "Helm's a-lee!" whereupon
the fore and fore staysail sheets were let go and overhauled. Meanwhile
a party of men on the poop had dragged the spankerboom as nearly
amidships as they could get it. Presently the square canvas was all
a-shiver, slatting furiously and causing the ship to tremble to her
keel. "Raise tacks and sheets!" was the next order; and now came the
critical moment and the question--Would she hold her way long enough to
cant in the proper direction? And, as luck would have it, just then
there came hissing and foaming down upon us a particularly heavy sea,
into which the frigate dived until she was all a-smother for'ard. Yet,
notwithstanding this, her head continued to sweep round--slowly, it is
true; still--"Mainsail haul!" bellowed the first luff through his
trumpet, and round swung the after yards, the men bracing them well up
and rounding in on the main-sheet. Now her head was beginning to pay
off, but slowly. The first lieutenant dashes up on the poop and looks
over the side--she has begun to gather stern-way.

"Shift over your helm, quartermaster," he shouts; "over with it!" and
stands breathless, awaiting the result. "Ah! that's better, now she
pays off freely," and presently the main topsail fills with a loud flap.
"Fore tack--head bowlines--of all haul!" yells Mr Howard, and the head
yards sweep round and are braced hard up, the fore and main tacks are
boarded, the weather braces steadied taut, the weather lifts bowsed up,
the bowlines hauled, and away goes the saucy _Europa_ on the other tack,
having stayed triumphantly in a wind and sea that would have compelled
most ships to wear.

CHAPTER FIVE.

THE EUROPA HAS A NARROW ESCAPE.

"Splendidly done, Mr Howard; a very fine bit of seamanship!" exclaimed
Captain Vavassour, when at length the frigate was fairly round, and was
once more going through the water; "you must allow me to compliment you;
to tack ship successfully in such a wind and sea as this is no mean
feat, in my opinion, and the slightest error of judgment, a single
second of hesitation, must have resulted in failure."

"Thank you, Captain Vavassour," answered the first luff, flushing with
pleasure at the skipper's praise. "I feel intensely gratified at your
appreciation. But you really make too much of it, sir; it is not