CHAPTER XIII.
ADRIFT.
All at once Joe uttered a shrill cry:
"That big fellow yonder. It's coming right for us."
"By dunder, dot's right," shouted Captain Nelsen, who, clutching the rail of the bridge, stood by the lad's side. "Hard over midt your helm dere, boy."
Joe spun the wheel over, but as he did so it suddenly turned loose in his hands.
A cry of consternation broke from his lips:
"The tiller ropes are broken!"
Nat echoed his comrade's alarmed shout. As for Ding-dong, he turned white under his tan.
The "Nomad" rolled helplessly in the trough of the now aroused seas, while at a distance of not more than a few hundred yards the nearest of the immense waterspouts was roaring down upon her. For an instant they looked dismayed into the grim face of danger.
It looked as if there was not a chance of their escaping from being engulfed by the monster spout. In this emergency even Captain Akers stood irresolute. It was clear that he was nonplussed by the nearness of the peril.