a ripple on its surface, I could scarcely believe what he had
said. But before many minutes had passed I was convinced of my error.

While I was standing talking to my messmate, the captain rushed on deck,
and shouted--

"All hands tumble up! Shorten sail! Take in every rag! Look alive,
boys, look alive."

I was quite stunned for a moment by this, and by the sudden tumult that
followed. The men, who seemed never to take thought about anything, and
who had but one duty, namely, to _obey orders_, ran upon deck, and
leaped up the rigging like cats; the sheets of nearly all the principal
sails were clewed up, and, ere long, the canvas was made fast to the
yards. A few of the smaller sails only were left exposed, and even
these were close reefed. Before long a loud roar was heard, and in
another minute the storm burst upon us with terrific violence. The ship
at first lay over so much that the masts were almost in the water, and
it was as impossible for any one to walk the deck as to walk along the
side of a wall. At the same time, the sea was lashed into white foam,
and the blinding spray flew over us in bitter fury.

"Take in the topsails!" roared the captain. But his voice was drowned
in the shriek of the gale. The men were saved the risk of going out on
the yards, however, for in a few moments more all the sails, except the
storm-try-sail, were burst and blown to ribbons.

We now tried to put the ship's head to the wind and "_lay to_," by which
landsmen will understand that we tried to face the storm, and remain
stationary. But the gale was so fierce that this was impossible. The
last rag of sail was blown away, and then there was nothing left for us
but to show our stern to the gale, and "scud under bare poles."

The great danger now was that we might be "pooped," which means that a
huge wave might curl over our stern, fall with terrible fury on our
deck, and sink us.

Many and many a good ship has gone down in this way; but we were
mercifully spared. As our safety depended very much on good steering,
the captain himself took the wheel, and managed the ship so well, that
we weathered the gale without damage, farther than the loss of a few
sails and light spars. For two days the storm howled furiously, the sky
and sea were like ink, with sheets of rain and foam driving through the
air, and raging billows tossing our ship about like a cork.

During all this time my shipmates were quiet and grave, bu