that led up directly on deck from the saloon.

Arrived here, he had evidently noted the vessel's insecurity, and,
seamanlike, had hit upon the very same way out of the difficulty that
had suggested itself to the skipper, having, ere we reached his side,
cast off the ropes confining the folds of the trysail and trying
singlehanded to haul out the clew.

"Begorrah, me bhoys, ye've come in the very nick o' time!" he exclaimed
on seeing us. "Here, Spoke, me darlint, hang on to the end of this
sheet and you, Dick, step on to the tail of it, whilst I take a turn of
the slack round that bollard! Faith, it's blo'in' like the dievle, and
we'll have our work cut out for us, me bhoys, to git a purchase on it
anyhow. Now, all together, yo-heave-ho! Pull baker, pull dievle!"

With that, bending our backs to it, we all hauled away at the sheet,
succeeding by a great endeavour in stretching the clew of the sail to
the end of the boom, which we then secured amidships as best we could,
though the spar and sail combined jerked to such an extent that it
seemed as if the mizzenmast would be wrenched out of the ship each
instant, the heavy fold of the canvas that hung loosely under the jaws
of the gaff shaking and banging about with a noise like thunder.

Even the small amount of canvas exposed to the wind, however, was
sufficient to supply the additional leverage required aft; and the
engines working at half speed, with the headsails flattened, the ship's
bows were presently brought up to the wind, when we lay-to under easy
steam.

"Well done, my lads!" sang out the skipper from the bridge, when the
ship's head was round and the peril of her broaching-to in the heavy
seaway been fortunately averted; the wind was blowing aft, of course,
and bringing his voice to us as if he stood by, and shouting in our very
ears, "Now look sharp and come here under the bridge; I want you to cast
off the lashings of the big wheel amidships and see that the yolk lines
run clear. We shall have to manhandle the helm and steer from below, as
the steam gear up here in the wheel-house is hopelessly jammed and will
take a month of Sundays to get right!"

"Aye, aye, sir," we made answer, under his nose, having been scurrying
forwards while he was speaking, the Irish mate adding in his native
vernacular, "Begorrah, we'll rig up the whole, sir, in the twinkling of
a bedpost, sure!"

"Hullo!" exclaimed the skipper, "is that you, O'Neil?"

"Faith, all tha