wn staysails and jib."

The sailors, now conscious of the coming danger, worked desperately. The
light upper sails were secured, the courses had been clewed up, but the
topsails were still but half-lashed when Wilkinson shouted again:

"Down for your lives! Down on the weather side; slip down by the
back-stays. You men to leeward, hold on--all hold on," he shouted a few
seconds later.

There was a dull roaring sound, rising to a shriek as the squall struck
the vessel.

Most of the men had gained the deck in safety, but many of those coming
down by the ratlines were still some distance from the deck. It was well
for them that they were on the weather side; had they been to leeward
they would have been torn from their grasp, whereas they were now
pinned to the rigging. Two sounds like the explosion of cannon were
heard. The main and foretopsails both blew out of their gaskets, bellied
for an instant, and then burst from the bolt-ropes and flew away, and
were speedily lost to sight. So great was the pressure that the brig was
driven bodily down until the water was almost level with the rail at the
bow, and it looked for a moment as if she would go down by the head.

One of the jibs was run up, but only to be blown away before it was
sheeted home. Another was tried, the sheet being kept very slack. This
held, her head lifted, and in a minute the _Tigress_ was flying along
dead before the wind. The storm-jib was brought up, hooked on, and
hoisted. This, being of very heavy canvas, could be trusted, and as soon
as it was set the other was hauled down.

"Thank God, that is over!" Wilkinson said, "and we have not lost a
hand."

By this time all the men had gained the deck.

"How long will this last?" Edgar shouted in one of the Turks' ears.

"Perhaps one hour; perhaps four."

"Let us have a look at the chart," Wilkinson said. "When we last looked
there was a group of rocks ten miles ahead, and at the rate we are going
the _Tigress_ will be smashed into matchwood if she keeps on this course
for long."

Edgar nodded.

"We must get trysails on the main and foremast," Wilkinson went on, "and
manage to lay her course a couple of points to the west. I wish we had
those upper spars down on deck, but it is of no use talking of that
now."

Wilkinson went down to the sail-room with the boatswain and four seamen
to bring up the two heaviest and strongest of the triangular sails.

"We must sheet them home before we hoist