Such was indeed the case, and after a few breathless seconds, during which it seemed that another inch of inclination would have sufficed to turn her bottom up, the schooner began to right, recovering herself at last with a jerk which filled the decks fore and aft with water, and flying away before the gale like a frightened steed.
The craft always steered like a little boat, and once fairly before the wind Tompion could easily keep her there single-handed, so, letting go the wheel and slanting myself backward against the force of the blast, which pressed upon my body like a solid wall, and demanded all my strength to prevent my being helplessly run forward, I made a snatch at the binnacle and peered into it. We were heading due east, which was a great relief to my mind, as I knew that we had plenty of sea-room in that direction, and could run for days if need were without bringing up against anything. A man came working his way aft, hauling himself along by the bulwarks, to relieve the wheel, and Tompion joined me under the partial shelter of the companion.
“That was a narrow squeak, sir, if ever there was one,” he remarked. “When you joined me at the wheel I wouldn’t have given a brass farthing for our chance; but we shall do well enough now, at all events until the sea rises; and even then I don’t feel particular duberous. This schooner is as fine a sea-boat as ever was launched; and I’d sooner take my chance of riding out a gale in her than in some seventy-fours I’ve known.”
“Yes,” I replied, “I think we shall be all right now. I wonder whether we have sustained any damage aloft?”
“Impossible to say yet, sir,” returned Tompion. “We shall know soon enough, however. But it was a marcy as them yards was sent down on deck and the topmasts housed; if they’d been on end it would have made more than extra leverage enough to have capsized us. It’s to be hoped we’ve plenty of sea-room ahead of us, sir.”
I satisfied his mind upon that point, and the gunner then went forward to see whether the men were all right, returning shortly afterwards with the satisfactory intelligence that they were.
The sea rose with frightful rapidity, notwithstanding that the wind in its furious career caught the crests of the waves as they rose and swept them through the air in a drenching, blinding torrent of scud-water; and in an hour from the bursting of the hurricane we found ourselves exposed to a new danger, that of being pooped and swamped by the mountainous seas which came rushing after us, towering high above our taffrail and momentarily threatening to break on board.
I turned to Tompion, who was standing abaft near the helmsman.
“Tompion,” said I, “we must get some canvas of some sort upon the ship or we shall be overrun by the sea. Do you think we might venture to set the foresail, close reefed?”
“Lord bless you, Mr Lascelles,” was the reply, “the canvas ain’t wove that’d stand a single minute before such a howlin’ gale as this here; it’d be blown clean out of the gaskets if we was to cast a single one of ’em loose; indeed, I shouldn’t be a bit surprised to find half the sails blown away from the spars as it is, when we get light enough to see how the little barkie has come out of the scrimmage. Still, if so be as you thinks fit to give the order, we—”