aman whom the captain had promoted from the fo'c's'le to take
Capstan's vacant place, and a wonderful improvement in every way to that
bully.

After leaving Port Philip, they had a fair enough passage till they got
about midway between New Zealand and the American continent, Captain
Lennard taking a more northerly route than usual on account of its being
the summer season in those latitudes, and the drift-ice coming up from
the south in such quantities as to be dangerous if they had run down
below the forties.

When the _Greenock_ was in longitude somewhere about 150 West and
latitude 39 South a fierce gale sprung up from the north-east, right in
their teeth, causing the lighter sails of the ship to be handed and the
topgallants to be taken in.

At midnight on the same day, the wind having increased in force, the
upper topsails were handed and the foresail reefed, the ship running
under this reduced canvas, and steering east-south-east, the direction
of the wind having shifted round more to the northward. The next
evening, the wind veered to the westward, and was accompanied with such
terrific squalls and high confused sea that Captain Lennard, who had
thought at first he could weather out the storm under sail, determined
to get up steam, and lowered the propeller so that the ship might lay-to
more easily.

Later on in the afternoon, however, another shift of wind took place,
the gale veering to sou'-sou'-west in a squall heavier than any of its
predecessors; while a heavy sea, flooding the decks, broke through the
hatchway and put out the engine fires.

Being a smart seaman, the captain had sail set again as soon as
possible, hoisting reefed topsails and foresail to lift the vessel out
of the trough of the following seas, in which she rolled from side to
side like a whale in its death flurry.

All seemed going on well for a short time after this; and he and Uncle
Jack thought they had weathered the worst of it, when the foresheet
parted and the clew of the foresail, going through the lower
foretopsail, split it in ribbons.

The barque was then brought to the wind on the port tack under the lower
maintopsail, and she lay-to pretty well; but the wind kept on veering
and beating with frequent squalls from sou'-sou'-west to west, so that
at noon a strong gale prevailed again fiercer than before.

Teddy had not seen anything like this; but he wasn't a bit frightened,
and he was as active as the oldest sailor in l