“Will, sorr,” said the mate, speaking more earnestly than was his usual wont, and dropping his voice so that no one else could hear him. “To spake the truth and shame the divil—faix it’s no lie I’m telling—we’re right in the centre of a cyclone, and the Lord only knows if we’ll iver git out of it!”
“I thought so,” murmured Mr Meldrum; “my poor children!”
“Sure and be a man now!” whispered the mate as Kate came out of Mrs Major Negus’ cabin. “I wouldn’t have tould you if I had thought contrariwise!”
“I was not thinking of myself,” said Mr Meldrum sternly; “what sail are you carrying?”
“Sail!” exclaimed Mr McCarthy; “faix and its joking ye are! Ivery stitch of canvas, sure, was blown to smithereens when the ship broached to, and the foretop-mast was thin took out of her, too, by the same token! The divil a hap’orth are we carrying, save a piece of tarpaulin lashed in the weather rigging to kape her hid to the say, and that’s all we can do till daylight comes, if we iver say it, please God, for it’s as dark now as a blue dog in a black entry, and you couldn’t say your hand before your face to set any sail, if ever a man could git up the rigging—but whist now about that! Steward,” he added in a louder key, “come, look alive here and git the cuddy to rights in shipshape fashion! By the powers, but the skipper’d be in a foine rage if he saw it all mops and brooms like this! Bear a hand, man, and be smart, and I’ll send the carpenter to help you as soon as the watch is relayed.” With these words he bustled on deck again, after changing his oilskin, which was all knocked to pieces, for a rough pea-jacket, and saying to Mr Meldrum that he thought the latter would be more handy, for it was blowing enough to take one’s hair off!
“Papa,” said Kate as soon as the mate had ascended the companion, “what was that Mr McCarthy was saying when he spoke so low to you?”
“Eh, my dear?” answered her father a little confusedly, with some hesitation in his voice. “Oh, only that the storm was raging violently and did not seem to lull at all yet.”
“Did he say that there was any danger?”
“Danger, eh? no, I—I can’t say. I think I’ll just step up and see for myself;” and, anxious to escape this cross-examination, as well as really to judge whether the position of the ship was as precarious as the chief mate had indicated, Mr Meldrum likewise went up on to the poop, finding some trouble when he reached the top of the companion stairs, in opening the hatch.
For a moment, after emerging on to the deck, all was terribly dark—as black as ink, as Mr McCarthy had said; but, the next instant, the whole awful scene was lit up by the most intense and vivid flash of lightning Mr Meldrum had ever beheld—the electric fluid being quite unaccompanied by any peal of thunder, although that might have been drowned by the continuous roar and shriek of the howling wind which appeared to have gone mad with the unbridled fury of a demon.