A squall was seen bearing down on them, of greater violence than any they had yet encountered.
Petersen was doing his trick at the wheel. Pandoo and Antonio stood holding on by the stays, when suddenly that awful black squall struck the vessel. For a few seconds she reeled and staggered like a stricken deer.
Luckily axes were on deck.
“Quick, Pandoo, quick,” shouted Antonio. “Get the bight of a rope round you, fasten one end to a belaying-pin, and mount the bulwark to cut through the shrouds while I cut the mast.”
Pandoo, with all the agility of a panther, did as he was bid.
But none too soon.
“Now,” cried the captain, “strike when I give the order.
“Away, aloft.”
Pandoo, secure now from falling overboard, mounted the bulwark.