Once, when Bunny and Sue were down in their staterooms with Mrs. Brown, changing their clothes, for the salty spray had wet them, the ship gave such a sudden lurch that Sue cried:
“Oh, we’re going to tip over!”
And even Mrs. Brown feared this for a moment.
Bunny heard what his sister said and cried:
“If we turn over we’ll stand on our heads!”
“I don’t like standing on my head,” answered Sue. “And I don’t want the ship to turn over.”
“Neither do I! My gracious, I should say not!” exclaimed Mrs. Brown. “Please don’t even talk about such a terrible happening, my dears!” Then Bunny saw how serious his mother was.
Really, for a time it seemed as if something might happen to the Beacon. She was in the very midst of a sudden, tropical hurricane which splashed the waves big and high and made the ship lean far over to one side.
But Captain Ward and his men were skillful sailors, and they managed the vessel so that she turned back again, and was on what is called an even keel, riding so that her decks were straight instead of slanting.
Still the wind blew hard and the seas ran high, though there was not as much danger as at first. After a while Bunny and Sue grew so accustomed to the storm and the rolling and pitching and tossing of the ship that they began to think it was rather fun.