tive of the supernatural, and from the uneasy
glances that were directed aft from the forecastle it was not difficult
to surmise that none of the men had ever before beheld anything like it.
Neither had we of the afterguard, for that matter, and I have no doubt
that I should have been very much more seriously alarmed than I was at
the spectacle, had I not read somewhere the description of a hurricane
that had been similarly heralded. As it was, I was by no means happy at
the prospect of what was in store for us, asking myself uneasily whether
quite all had been done that it was possible to do to prepare the ship
for the impending ordeal. There was but one thing I could think of, and
that was to order all the scuttles to be securely closed, and this was
at once done, although it rendered the cabins insupportably hot and
close. Of course I should have liked to send down the royal and
topgallant yards, and to have housed the fore topgallant mast and main
topmast, and I would have attempted it had we had a decently willing
crew; but I doubted whether the Dagoes would have undertaken the job,
except under compulsion; and I was unwilling to engage in a tussle with
a crowd of insubordinates with a hurricane threatening to burst upon us
at any moment.

Naturally, under the circumstances I never dreamed of turning in; nor
did any of the others, for that matter, the boatswain and Chips keeping
me company aft, while a glance for'ard showed that even the forecastle
bunch, jealous as they were of their "rights", preferred for once in a
way to spend their watch below on deck. Shortly after midnight the
weird, ruddy light began to fade, indicating that the crisis was
approaching. I accordingly sent the boy Billy below, secured the
companion doors, and closed the slide, knowing this to be one of the
ship's most vulnerable points in a heavy sea, such as one might expect
when the gale should burst upon us, and thereafter there was nothing
more to be done but to abide events.

It was about half an hour later, and the light had almost entirely
faded, when we got our first distinct warning to "stand by". It came in
the form of a sudden scurry of wind, apparently from nowhere in
particular, that swept, whining and moaning, over the ship, causing the
canvas to flap violently--and then it was gone. This occurred perhaps
half a dozen times, each gust lasting a few seconds longer and being
perceptibly stronger than the one which preceded