Dinner over, I again went on deck. Still no change, the air seemed thick, and hot as the breath of a furnace, but so still that the flame of a candle brought on deck burned straight up, save when the roll of the vessel caused it to waver to port or to starboard as the case might be.
“After all I don’t think it’s going to be anything, sir, unless, mayhap, another thunder-storm like the one we had,” commenced the gunner, as I stood looking round the horizon and vainly endeavouring to pierce the darkness which enveloped us.
“Hark!” I interrupted. “Do you hear that, Tompion?”
A low moaning sound had become audible in the atmosphere, away apparently on our starboard beam, and as we listened it gradually increased in intensity until it had become a rushing roar so loud as to almost drown the human voice, even when raised to its highest pitch.
“Ay, ay, sir; I hear it sure enough,” was the reply. “It’s coming now. Look out, sir I lay hold on anything you can put your hand upon. Hard a-starboard with your helm! Look out there, for’ard!”
Louder and louder grew the sound until it became absolutely deafening, and then with an awful overwhelming rush the gale burst upon us. It struck the schooner fair on her starboard, broadside, and stout and staunch as was the craft, she bowed beneath it until her larboard gunwale was buried.
“Good heavens!” I thought, “she is going over, she is going to turn the turtle with us!” as I felt the incline of the deck getting steeper and steeper beneath my feet, and I turned and clawed my way aft toward the wheel. On reaching it I found there was someone already there.
“Hard a-weather; over with it, man; hard over!” I yelled as I got hold of the spokes and vainly strove to move the helm.
“It is hard a-weather, sir,” shrieked Tompion’s voice in reply; “but we’re done for, sir; if she won’t pay off she’s bound to capsize.”
“Stick to her,” I shouted back as I threw my whole weight on the spokes to leeward, “I can feel a tremor in the wheel; she’s gathering head-way!”