The situation became serious on this being repeated several times during the afternoon, for there was great danger of the vessel being any moment thrown on her beam ends, when there would certainly be a clean sweep made of everything on board and the Esmeralda be speedily converted into a floating wreck!
Captain Billings accordingly called a council of his officers, I standing by and listening to what Mr Macdougall and Jorrocks advised should be done in the emergency. These both, however, came to the same opinion as the skipper, that scudding would be the best course to pursue under the circumstances—although, like him, they were well aware that the difficulty which faced us all consisted, not so much in running before the wind, as in managing to get the vessel’s head round so as to do it without broaching or letting her to.
Still, the manoeuvre had to be tried as a last resource.
“I don’t see that anything else can be done,” said Captain Billings, with a more anxious look on his face than I had ever noticed there before. “I only hope we’ll manage it successfully; for, if we once get broadside on in the trough of this sea, she’ll never rise out of it, with the heavy cargo she carries, and so it will be a case of Davy Jones’ locker for the lot of us!”
Chapter Fifteen.
“A Little Unpleasantness.”
“Say, Cap’, we’ll have to strip her first,” suggested Jorrocks, when it was thus decided to carry out the contemplated measure for the relief of the ship—“if we don’t do that, we’ll have every stick taken out of her as soon as we try to wear her!”
“Oh, aye, boatswain, I haven’t forgotten that, you may be sure,” said the skipper; and the hands were then once more sent aloft to furl the main-topsail, while the mizzen trysail was hauled down and the braces manned, so as to help the vessel round with the yards the moment the helm was put up.