“No, but the barometer indicates something unusual. It is falling very rapidly.” Then scanning the horizon in all directions, he added, “I wonder which way it is coming. That barometer is going down too fast for comfort.” Saying this, he called all hands and set about preparations for a storm, concerning the coming of which there was not the slightest apparent and visible indication.
“There it comes, now,” cried the captain as a puff of wind from out of the east filled the double reefed sails, and a little later a mist blotted out the sun. “It is coming out of the east.”
“Is there any danger?” asked the professor?
“Well,” replied the captain, slowly, “lying off the lea shore, in a hurricane isn’t exactly the place I should pick out for safety.”
“Can’t you beat to windward?” suggested the professor.
“That’s what we can try,” returned the captain. “Hard down with the helm! Pull in the sheets!” A heavier blast struck the sails now, and heeled the yacht well over. “Steady as you are!”
Under the impulse of the wind, the yacht sprang forward with sails close hauled, beating up into it.
“It’s no use,” admitted the captain, as the strength of the wind increased. “We haven’t gained an inch. Something must be done quickly.”
“What?” asked the professor.