“Yes, sir; but our rigging is all new, so we must be tender, or our masts may suffer.”
“It would be well to get up some preventive back stays, and take in the lee rigging, which I see is as slack as a purser’s liberality.”
As the night, which was intensely dark, advanced, the gale increased to a hurricane. Captain O’Loughlin, on consulting his charts, found they were heading towards the Spanish coast. So rapidly had the sea increased, that before morning they were preparing to heave the ship to, when the man forward sung out—
“Ship right ahead.”
The next moment, as Captain O’Loughlin and our hero were anxiously looking out, a huge ship was dimly seen, rising on the top of a monstrous billow. She was lying to.
“It is the French ship, the Commerce de Marseilles,” said William Thornton, as the man at the wheel was ordered to keep the Babet a point or two to the nor’-west; and then she was hove to, just as a gun was fired from the Commerce de Marseilles, and the night signal displayed.
This was promptly answered by the crew of the corvette, and her name given; and then all relapsed into silence, excepting the roar of the gale through the rigging, and the breaking surges as they dashed against the side of the ship. Still the gale increased; and when the grey light of morning broke over the storm-tossed deep, they could distinctly make out three ships, not half a mile from each other, all lying to.
CHAPTER IX.
This was the memorable storm on the 28th of December, 1793. So tremendous became the hurricane before sunset of the day following its commencement, that the Babet became literally buried in the tremendous seas. She had lost her bowsprit, close to the stem, a great portion of her bulwarks, and all her boats, and just as night set in, a sea of terrific bulk and fury broke on her larboard bow; fortunately, it was expected, and the crew saved themselves from being washed overboard by timely precaution; but for several moments all thought the corvette was sinking, when a tremendous crash took place, and both main and fore masts went over the side, a furious sea striking her at the same time, fortunately driving her right round before the tempest.