It was as if the sea and sky conspired to wreak vengeance upon the cruiser. The waves ran "mountains high," their rugged crest whipped into clouds of spindrift by the tempestuous wind, while torrential rain, accompanied by rapid and brilliant flashes of lightning, blotted out the field of vision to less than a cable's length ahead.
Yet in spite of the elements the Olive Branch, her speed reduced to a bare thirty knots, charged through the foaming waters. Everything was battened down, and well it was, for instead of lifting to the waves the cruiser dashed straight through them.
Tons of water swept her decks as far as the aftermost turret, the spray flying in solid sheets high over her charthouse. Yet she maintained a remarkably even keel, so that, had it been necessary, her guns could have been fought with comparative ease.
Gerald, who, like the rest of the crew save those whose presence was necessary in the chart-house, was compelled to remain below, could not help admiring the steadiness with which the vessel behaved.
"Yes, she's a marvel!" assented Alec Sinclair, the first "luff."
"I don't want to alarm you, but this stability is owing to her low metacentric height. It's only her speed that gives her safety, though I would not give much for my life if she were caught broadside on by one of those waves."
Fortunately these storms, though violent, are of comparatively short duration, and, running directly across the path of a hurricane, it was not long before the Olive Branch emerged from the zone of the tempest.
The sea still ran high, though the crests rarely broke inboard, but the hatches were able to be unbattened, and the crew to breathe the fresh air.
"Sail on the starboard bow!"
The officer of the watch, on hearing the hail, immediately acquainted Captain Brookes. During the voyage several craft had been sighted, but, with the exception of the Puma—which had previously been ordered to rendezvous at a certain latitude and longitude—they had invariably been carefully avoided. It was a matter of surprise, therefore, that the captain ordered the cruiser's head to be turned towards the strange vessel.