The sea which, from the commencement of the hurricane, had been roused into boiling surge, dashed over the ship without a moment's cessation, though she must have been going at the rate of twelve knots an hour, but as the light in the binnacle was extinguished by the tempest, no one could tell for some time which way her head lay; and for a time such was the black fury of the hurricane, that the look-out ahead could not see half the vessel's length from her, so thick were the clouds of spray raised by the force of the wind, and meanwhile the whole deck was flooded, and everything loose went washing away to leeward.
From time to time Derval thought of Rudderhead, and while doing his duty kept on his guard. Amid the hubbub and obscurity of such time there was more than one opportunity of working mischief.
Thunder, lightning, and rain were all in full chorus together for more than an hour, during which very little was said by one man to another, save brief orders, or hurried remarks.
"I think there is a little lull, sir," said Rudderhead to the Captain; "shall we keep our wind?'
"I think you are right—she is a weatherly craft, and makes little leeway. Luff her to, then!" shouted Talbot, through his trumpet.
The words were scarcely out of his mouth when a great black sea came thundering like a mountain over the weather gangway, nearly tearing the long-boat from its chocks, straining and starting the lashing of the weather guns, beating open two of the lee ports, and nearly sweeping away everything movable. The hurricane now abated a little; but the Amethyst had scarcely a stitch of canvas set, yet the yards being braced up sharply, kept her steady, while ever and anon brilliant flashes of green lightning cast a ghastly glare upon the seething water, and appalling booms of thunder hurtled through the sky, to die away in distance.
About three bells, in the middle watch, there came a cry from the look-out man ahead—
"Sail on the weather bow!"
She had been revealed by a flash of lightning, and was, Harry Bowline reported, about half a mile off.
In such a tempest it might be necessary to give her as wide a berth as possible, and several night-glasses were in requisition, scanning the quarter indicated; and, among others, Derval, with his left arm round one of the fore-shrouds, kept his binocular intently to his eyes, on the look-out.