u go,' shouts the old man, and then, a minnit arter, as
she gathered way, he says ag'in to the mate, 'We must let her come to,
Mr. Graham, we can't run her in the teeth of the old s'utherly sea;
ease down the helm and let her smell of it.' It was a powerful whiff
she took, for as she come to and felt the force of the wind, all three
to'gallan' masts went short off at the cap, the main-topsail sheets
parted, and in an instant there wasn't a piece of the sail left big
enough for a lady's handkerchief.

"'That's all it can do,' said the old man to the mate, bitterly; 'git
this trash on deck as soon as possible, and git her a-waggin' once
more; I've brung her through it safe, and am goin' home,' and with
that he dropped onto the poop as dead as mutton. He had come on deck
bare-headed and with nothin' on but his drawers and shirt, just as he
had laid in his bunk for a fortnight, and the exposure had carried him
off. However, he knowed that the shift were so near nobody ever could
tell. There were no doubt, however, but that his gittin' her weared
round were our salvation. If that gust had a-struck us aback our masts
would have gone sartin, and it's a toss-up but what we'd a-gone down
starn fust afore she'd a-backed round. Next day we giv' old Wiggins a
funeral fit for the Emperor of Rooshy, and he well desarved it. I
don't know as ever I seen a prettier sew-up than we done on him,
wrappin' him first in the American ensign and then kiverin' him with
brand-new No. 4 canvas. Considerin' the sails we'd lost and how much
we needed the canvas, I think he must have been satisfied that we done
the handsome thing by him. The day was beautiful and clear, although
the wind still blowed a gale. We hadn't been able to do much with the
wreck stuff, except git lashin's onto it for to keep it from swingin'
about, and we hadn't dared for to try for to send up another
main-topsail. We had set the reefed mainsail for to steady her, and
that were all. The three to'gallan' masts was still a-hangin' over the
side, and the ribbons of the foresail and fore-topsail was still
a-flutterin' in the breeze, when at eight bells, at midday, all hands
was called for to bury the dead. Everythin' that we had in the way of
nice clothes we had put on for to do honor to our captain, and most of
us was able to sport white shirts and broadcloth. We laid the old man
onto a plank and kivered him with the union jack, and all hands
gathered round him, while Mr. Graham