“Nor’-nor’-west,” I repeated.
“Nor’-nor’-west,” echoed Maxwell, seizing his parallel ruler and applying it to the chart. “And two and a half points of leeway, applied to the right, makes it north, half east; while Point du Raz bears—or bore—north, three-quarters east. Um! It’s going to be ‘touch and go’ with us, I am afraid, at that rate; for while she will doubtless weather the point itself all right, there is that out-jutting reef, which is as likely as not to bring us up with a round turn.”
“And supposing we should be lucky enough to scrape past,” I inquired, “is there anything beyond that we need worry about? I am almost certain that I heard the master say something about ‘Les Stevenets,’ or some such name.”
“Les Stevenets,” repeated Maxwell—“yes, of course; there they are, about two and a half miles to the nor’-west of the point. But I don’t see why old Trimble need worry about them, for if we can’t weather them there is plenty of room for us to pass them to leeward, after having done which we shall have plenty of time to decide upon our next move. That is our critical point.” And he put his finger on Point du Raz. “I’m going on deck to see how things look.”
So saying, Maxwell rolled up his chart, put it and his instruments away, turned up the collar of his jacket, and sprang up the ladder, Gascoigne, Fleming, and I following him.
Upon our arrival the first thing I noticed was that the Captain, the first luff, and the master were all standing together close under the shelter of the weather bulwarks, apparently holding a sort of council of war. The weather, I thought, looked somewhat more promising than it had done when I went below; for the sky to windward had broken, displaying a very wild and stormy sunset, it is true, yet the fact that the heavy, lowering canopy of cloud had broken up at all seemed to indicate that the worst would soon be over. But it was still blowing very heavily, and while the atmosphere was now quite clear of mist, permitting us a view to the extreme confines of the horizon, everything—the wild, tumultuously heaving sea to windward, and the land ahead and to leeward—showed a preternaturally hard outline. Point du Raz was now about three miles distant and bore about a point, or maybe a trifle more on the lee-bow, with the surf breaking furiously upon the reef which projected beyond it, while the leeward extremity of the reef jutting out from the easternmost extremity of the Isle de Seins lay dead ahead, smothered in boiling surf, the passage between the two reefs now looking alarmingly narrow. And it was through that passage we must win safety!
I was of course on the lee-side of the deck, so I could only catch an occasional disconnected word of what passed between the trio to windward, but I presently gathered that the master seemed to be endeavouring to persuade the skipper to wear ship while we still had room enough to execute that manoeuvre; but Captain Vavassour appeared to be objecting, upon the plea that, once on the other side of the point, we had nothing more to fear, whereas, should we wear ship now, we should be heading for the Penmarks as soon as we got round upon the other tack, and should reach them, and be faced with the task of weathering them during the hours of darkness. The skipper, it was evident, was all for grappling with the nearest danger, for the reason that we should at least have light enough to see what we were doing; and Mr Howard seemed to side with him.
“But, sir,” remonstrated the master desperately, “have you considered what must inevitably happen if a flaw of wind should come round that point, at the critical moment, and break us off, as it is likely enough to do?”
“Well, n–o,” answered the Captain slowly, “I had not thought of that, I must confess, for I do not believe that such a thing is at all likely to happen. But I am very much obliged to you for mentioning it, Mr Trimble, for ‘forewarned is forearmed,’ and in circumstances like the present it is our bounden duty to take every possible precaution for the safety of the ship. I am still of opinion that unless something unforeseen—such, for instance, as the occurrence which you have just suggested—should happen, we shall weather the point, and go clear; but, to provide against anything of that sort, Mr Howard,” turning to the first luff, “be good enough to see everything ready for club-hauling the ship. Have the best bower-cable ranged, double-bitt it, and stopper it at, say, thirty fathoms. Mr Galway—where is Mr Galway? Mr Delamere, be good enough to find Mr Galway, and say I want him—or—no, tell him that it may be necessary to club-haul the ship, and request him to muster the carpenter and his mates below, ready to cut away the best bower at the instant that I give the word. Then come back to me; I may want you.”
“Ay, ay, sir,” I answered, touching my hat; and away I went, heading for the second lieutenant’s cabin. I met him just coming out, somebody having already passed the word that the Captain wanted him. I delivered the skipper’s message, received his assurance that all should be ready, and then returned to the quarter-deck.