But at this moment the steerman's stentorian voice rang out: 'Hard to leeward!' The brig luffed up close to the wind, the sails flapped so violently that the rigging shook, and now followed in rapid succession, even quicker than before, orders to anchor. 'Let fall the port anchor! Let go the starboard one too!'
Plump—fell the one; plump—went the other. The old chains rattled out, and a little red cloud of rust rose up on either side of the bowsprit.
The men, accustomed to obey, worked rapidly without thinking why, and the brig soon rode pretty quietly at her two anchors.
But now, after the work was finished, no one could conceal his astonishment at this sudden anchoring, just off the coast, among islets and skerries. And still more extraordinary seemed the behaviour of those in command. For they both stood right forward, with their backs to the weather, leaning over the railing and staring at the port bow. Some had even thought they had heard the captain cry, 'To the pumps, men,' but this point was never cleared up.
'What the devil can they be doing forward?' said the rash young man.
'They think she struck on a reef when we shipped the big sea,' whispered the cabin-boy.
'Hold your jaw, boy!' said the boatswain.
All the same, the cabin-boy's words passed from mouth to mouth; a little chuckle was heard here and there; the men's faces became more and more ludicrously uneasy, and their suppressed laughter was on the point of bursting forth. Then the steersman was seen to nudge the skipper in the side.
'Yes; but then you must whisper to me,' said the latter.
The steersman nodded, and then the skipper turned to the crew and solemnly spoke as follows: