s the hurricane began, it ceased. The ship
rolled and tumbled about as violently as ever, having no masts to steady
her; but some minutes passed and she had not sunk lower in the water;
her pumps were got to work steadily; all hands which could be spared
were sent with buckets to the lower-deck to bale away; and though at
first the impression they made did not appear on so large a bulk of
water, it was soon evident they assisted the pumps in gaining on the
leaks.

No one, with but one exception, was idle. Everybody was straining every
nerve to keep the ship afloat, and to clear her of the wreck of her
masts. The only exception was Sam Smatch. Not aware that the state of
affairs had much improved, he sat, as ordered, on the raft, holding
little True Blue, and expecting every moment to feel the ship sinking
from under him.

Bravely and energetically the men laboured on. Once more the ship
floated nearly at her usual level; but the continued clank of the pumps
showed that it was only while they were kept going constantly that she
would do so. The hurricane, with loud mutterings in the distance, died
away, and the jury-masts being got up, a light wind from the eastward
enabled a course to be steered for Jamaica. Paul had come and released
Sam, and sent him with the child into the cabin.

"Gentlemen," said the Captain to his officers assembled round him, "a
merciful Providence has preserved our lives. Every man has done his
duty; but let us not boast that it is owing to our own strength or
exertions that our ship is still afloat. Our fate might have been that
which I fear has overtaken the _Thunderer_. Alas! we shall have a sad
account to give of her." Captain Penrose surmised too truly what had
happened. Neither the _Thunderer_ nor a single man of her crew was ever
heard of again.

CHAPTER SIX.

The _Terrible_ was with difficulty kept afloat while jury-masts were
being got up, and sails were made to carry her to Jamaica. Never had
her brave crew felt so unwilling to meet a foe; but, as Tom Snell, the
boatswain's mate, observed:

"What is sauce to the goose is sauce to the gander, d'ye see, mates; and
the chances are that all ships afloat are likely to be pretty evenly
tarred with the same brush."

So it proved. The French suffered as severely as the English. Many
vessels of each nation, both men-of-war and merchantmen, were cast away;
in some cases the whole of the crew perishing, in others a few