des, her course was set due east for Melbourne, from which she was
yet some thousands of miles away. The wind was fair, almost dead
astern, although the sea was high; and as the ship was rather light, she
rocked and rolled considerably, the waves washing over her decks, and
occasionally running over the poop in an avalanche of water, that swept
right forward and made any one hold on that did not wish to be washed
off their feet. The sea had a most winterly look. It appeared like a
vast hilly country with winding valleys, all covered with sloshy snow
just melted, the extreme tops of the waves looking like frozen peaks in
between, with the snow as yet not melted. The air, too, was as cold as
winter, for it blew from the Antarctic ice; and the gusts came more and
more frequent as evening closed in, raising the sea still higher in
towering mountains, that rushed after the ship, which was going from ten
to twelve-knots an hour under all plain sail, as if they would overwhelm
her, striking our sides every now and then heavy ponderous blows, that
made; her stagger from her course and quiver right down to her keelson.
One gust of wind came all at once with such startling force that it
split the main-topsail up like a piece of tissue-paper, and then the
captain thought it was about time to take in sail.

"I guess we're going to have a rough spell of it, Jonathan," said Davy,
as he moved away from his companion in obedience to the skipper's order,
"All hands shorten sail!" and stationed himself at his post by the
mizzen-halliards.

"Will it be serious, Dave?" asked the other, his pale face growing a
little paler with apprehension.

"Pooh! no, nothing to speak of, only a squall, Jonathan; so don't be
frightened, my boy."

A squall it was with a vengeance.

As the wind had been, right aft, the captain had kept the _Sea Rover_
under her royals and topgallantsails, without even taking in a reef, in
order to make the most of the twelve-knot breeze that was blowing: it
was only at the chief officer's request that a little time before he had
been induced to take in the stunsails; and now the wind seemed to expand
so suddenly into a gale, that it was as much as the seamen could do to
get the canvas off her before she was struck with the squall, that came
up astern at the rate of fifty miles an hour, covering the heavens to
windward with great black storm-clouds, and flying wrack like white
smoke that drifted before it, and seeme