she endeavoured to choke down in vain, at some secret joke or
other; but Captain Dinks, quite restored to his usual good-humour and
politeness by Mr Meldrum's apology, did not notice the girls, and
presently all were chatting together with the utmost cordiality, the
captain enlarging on the excellent run he hoped to make to New Zealand,
and promising the young ladies that they should see Madeira ere the week
was out, for he anticipated that the south-easterly breeze they now had
would carry them well past the Spanish coast and into the north-east
trades, when their voyage would be all plain sailing down to the
Equator.

How true, however, is the old adage, "Man proposes and God disposes!"

While the captain was chatting gaily with his passengers, another change
was taking place in the appearance of the heavens. The heavy,
threatening clouds, which had risen up after breakfast and been swept
away to leeward by the south-east wind as it got up, were now slowly
being banked up along the horizon to the northward and westward, the
haze extending down to the south right ahead of the vessel's track,
while a lot of scud began to be seen flying aloft at a very considerable
rate--not from but towards the point from which the breeze was blowing,
a sign that betokened not merely another shift of the wind, but a
squall, and one not to be trifled with either!

The obscuring of the sun by the drift was the first thing that called
the captain's attention to the altered state of the weather, and he at
once gave the order--"All hands shorten sail!" the mate rushing forwards
to see the details properly carried out.

The order did not come an instant too soon.

All at once, in a moment, the wind, which had previously been blowing
strongly from the south-east, died away and it was dead calm; while the
sea--already rough enough with the short chopping waves of the morning--
began to run with those huge billows that seem to get up almost without
preparation on the advent of a gale, every second growing more
mountainous.

At the captain's word of command, re-echoed by Mr McCarthy, the crew
had sprung aloft immediately; and, working with a will, had furled the
topgallant-sails, taken in the flying-jib, hauled up the mainsail and
mizzen-trysail and squared the after yards, when the ship resembled a
gladiator, entering the arena of the prize-ring stripped for a fight, as
she thus awaited the approach of the storm.

In the south-east the