rk, Kettle snugged her down
to single topsails, himself laying out on the foot-ropes with the
Portuguese, as no others of his crew could manage to scramble aloft with
so heavy a sea running.

The night worsened as it went on; the wind piled up steadily in
violence; and the sea rose till the sodden vessel rode it with a very
babel of shrieks, and groans, and complaining sounds. Toward morning, a
terrific squall powdered up against them and hove her down, and a dull
rumbling was heard in her bowels to let them know that once more her
cargo had shifted.

For the moment, even Kettle thought that this time she was gone for
good. She lost her way, and lay down like a log in the water, and the
racing seas roared over her as though she had been a half-tide rock. By
a miracle no one was washed overboard. But her people hung here and
there to eyebolts and ropes, mere nerveless wisps of humanity, incapable
under those teeming cataracts of waves to lift so much as a finger to
help themselves.

Then to the impact of a heavier gasp of the squall, the topgallant masts
went, and the small loss of of top-weight seemed momentarily to ease
her. Kettle seized upon the moment. He left the trimmer and one of the
Portuguese at the wheel, and handed himself along the streaming decks
and kicked and cuffed the rest of his crew into activity. He gave his
orders, and the ship wore slowly round before the wind, and began to pay
away on the other tack.

Great hills of sea deluged her in the process, and her people worked
like mermen, half of their time submerged. But by degrees, as the vast
rollers hit and shook her with their ponderous impact, she came upright
again, and after a little while shook the grain level in her holds, and
assumed her normal, angle of heel.

Dayton-Philipps struggled up and, hit Kettle on the shoulder. "How's
that, umpire?" he bawled. "My faith, you are a clever, sailor."

Captain Kettle touched his hat. "God bore a hand there, sir," he shouted
through the wind. "If I'd tried to straighten her up like that without
outside help, every man here would have been fish-chop this minute."

Even Dayton-Philipps, sceptical though he might be, began to think there
was "something in it" as the voyage went on. To begin with, the leak
stopped. They did not know how it had happened, and they did not very
much care. Kettle had his theories. Anyway it stopped. To go on with,
although they were buffeted with every kind of evil weath