time as might be allowed us, in making some sort of preparation to meet
the now confidently-expected outburst. I looked over our resources, and
found that they consisted, in the main, of eight oars, two boat-hooks,
two masts, two yards, three sails, half a coil of two-inch rope that
some thoughtful individual had pitched into the boat when getting her
ready for launching, half a coil of ratline and two large balls of spun-
yarn, due to the forethought of the same or some other individual, a
painter some ten fathoms long, and the boat's anchor, together with the
gratings, stretchers, and other fittings belonging to the boat, and a
few oddments that might or might not prove useful.

Was it possible to do anything with these? After considering the matter
carefully I thought it was. The greatest danger to which we were likely
to be exposed seemed to me to consist in our being swamped by the flying
spindrift and scud-water or by the breaking seas, and if we could by any
means contrive to keep the water out there was perhaps a bare chance
that we might be able to weather the gale. And, after a little further
consideration, I thought that what I desired to do might possibly be
accomplished by means of the boat's sails, which were practically new,
and made of very light, but closely woven canvas, that ought to prove
water-tight. So, having unfolded my ideas to the men, we all went to
work with alacrity to put them to the test of actual practice.

Of course it was utterly useless to think of scudding before the gale;
our only hope of living through what was impending depended upon our
ability to keep the boat riding bows-on to the sea, and to do this it
became necessary for us to improvise a sea anchor again. This was
easily done by lashing together six of our eight oars in a bundle, three
of the blades at one end and three at the other, with the boat anchor
lashed amidships to sink the oars somewhat in the water and give them a
grip of it. A span, made by doubling a suitable length of our two-inch
rope, was bent on to the whole affair, and the boat's painter was then
bent on to the span, when the apparatus was launched overboard, and our
sea anchor was ready for service.

Our next task was to cut the two lug-sails adrift from their yards. The
mainsail was then doubled in half, and one end spread over the fore
turtle-back and drawn taut. Over this, outside the boat and under her
keel, we then passed a length of our t