As the men reached the main topsail yard they immediately lay out toward the yardarms, and down on all a blinding snow-squall swooped. Even men close together could scarcely see each other, and nothing whatever of the ship. Nevertheless they set about reefing the canvas; it was so wet and stiff that, until the squall drove ahead, no hold could be obtained. The sail was like a great balloon in front of the yard.
In the 'slings' Mr. Statten was shouting like a bull, and up from the deck a faint 'Bear a hand!' occasionally struggled. In such a smother, and with a sail board-stretched by wind, it was impossible to act quickly.
At last the squall drove ahead. The moon struggled hard to cast a feeble gleam on the scene, and once more the officer sang out for another trial of strength.
One reef was 'tied up'; but while engaged on another someone suddenly yelled—Jack Clewlin thought that a hand had fallen from the yard—and pointed at a mysterious-looking object ahead.
Jack had never seen such a weird spectacle, and for some time he could not imagine what it was. A huge, faintly traceable, and greenish-coloured mountain of mist, here and there cut into towering pinnacles; it appeared right across the course of the vessel. He was not long left in doubt.
Men more intimately acquainted with those stormy and dangerous seas knew at once the peril in which the scudding ship was placed, and in stentorian tones down to the deck went the cry, 'Ice right ahead! Starboard, hard a-starboard!'
Instantly all hands dropped the work on which they were engaged, and by backstay and rigging slid down to man the braces. At the same moment every trace of moonlight vanished behind another black and snow-laden cloud driving across its face.
The wall of ice was no longer visible, and as the vessel came to the wind a great sea burst in over the weather quarter, almost filling the deck, but doing no more harm than soaking all hands to the skin, and lifting some of the fellows nearly over the rail; hanging on to the ropes they were hauled back in safety.
All that while the 'Ocean Glory' was forging ahead, everyone momentarily expecting to feel her crash on the ice, yet, most fortunately, such a disaster did not occur. More astonishing than all was the sudden subsidence of the storm, for the sea had become almost smooth.
Captain Thorne knew what that indicated, and very cheerily he sang out on his crew.