the ship's heeling over.

We were still carrying too much sail; and this the skipper was as quick
as any one to perceive, although he was anxious to pursue his course as
long as he could, and make as much capital as he could out of the north-
wester in his way to the Line.

"Hands shorten sail!" accordingly was the repeated cry; and, knowing
what was wanted, the crew were soon racing up the shrouds to close-reef
the topsails, although the force of the wind nearly pinned them to the
rigging like spread eagles, and they had hard difficulty in gaining the
yards, and working out along the foot-ropes, especially on those to
windward.

The topsail halliards had of course been let go before this, and the
loose sails were filled out like balloons, so that it took some time to
get in the bunt and tie the reef points; but it was at last done, and we
returned to the deck--I being especially triumphant at having out-paced
one of the smartest topmen in the ship, in gaining the weather earing of
the foretop sail before him, and completing my task so quickly as to get
down on deck before some of the rest had yet left the yard.

Captain Billings, I was pleased to see, noticed my activity, giving me
an approving smile, which more than counterbalanced the scowl that
Macdougall greeted my reappearance with below; but all such thoughts
were soon banished by the skipper's fresh order to go aloft and take in
the topsail we had only just close-reefed, the vessel being buried too
much by the head.

Away up the rattlins we all climbed again; while those below, on the
halliards being started by the run, began hauling on the clewlines and
buntlines, bagging up the sail so that we could hand it easier. It was
stiffer work furling it than the reefing had been; but, at length this,
too, was accomplished, albeit I nearly narrowly got knocked off the
yard-arm by the flapping back of the folds of canvas in my face as the
wind caught the leech sideways. We then returned once more to the more
substantial platform of the deck, glad enough to get down safe again.

"Let go the jib halliards!" was the next command, some of the hands
starting forwards to man the down haul; but the moment the halliards
were cast loose, the accommodating sail saved us any further trouble in
the way of stowing it, by blowing clean away to leeward with a report as
if a small cannon had been fired off on the fo'c's'le--floating out
against the dark background of the sky l