roken out, hurried aft, and with the assistance of Higson amid
the other oldsters who came out of the berth to see what was the matter,
quickly got the mass of struggling humanity disentangled and placed in
as upright position as circumstances would allow. The lieutenant ought
really to have been much obliged to Tom, for his anger completely
overcame the nausea from which he had been suffering; but ungrateful,
like too many others, as Higson observed, he went back into the gunroom
demanding condign punishment on the head of his benefactor and his
messmates. He was saved thereby from witnessing the effect of that
leveller of mankind, sea-sickness, on nearly half his men, who lay about
the deck unable to move, and only wishing that the ship would go down
and bring their misery to an end. Jack soon soothed the temper of his
brother officer, who was a brave and really a good-natured man, and then
went to look after Tom and Gerald. He advised them to lie down with
their eyes shut in the berth which was now vacated, the occupants being
called off to their respective duties, and the assistant-surgeon having
retired into the dispensary to concoct a specific against sea-sickness
of his own invention, which made him and those he persuaded to take it
ten times worse.

Soon afterwards all hands were piped on deck, and the sea-sick had to
appear as well as the rest. The report had been made to the captain
that a man had been knocked overboard, but who was the sufferer was
uncertain. The frigate was bravely breasting the foaming billows under
close-reefed topsails, ever and anon a hissing sea striking her bows and
its crest sweeping across the deck, the spray in dense showers coming
right aft, and rendering flushing coats and tarpaulins necessary to
those who desired dry skins. Overhead the dark clouds flew rapidly by,
showing no abatement of the gale. Far astern was the _Tudor_ with no
fore-topsail set, showing that either the mast or yard had been sprung
while it was impossible to say what other damage she might have
received, if caught unprepared as the frigate had been. The muster-roll
was now called over. A third of the crew had answered to their names.
"Richard Jenkins" was called. It was the name of a fine young topman.
No Richard Jenkins replied; but he must have been aloft at the time the
fore-tack parted, and then two other topmen acknowledged that they had
been afraid some one had been knocked from the fore-topsa