d with accelerated motion; then it passed along her, and
she was on a level keel on its top, and seemed to stand almost
still as the wave passed from under her.

In spite of the extra lashing which had been given, the hen coops,
spars, and everything loose upon the decks had been swept away; and
the bulwarks had, in several places, been stove in. The galley had
been carried away, but the cook had just made a shift to boil a
cauldron of coffee below, and a mug of this was served out to all
hands. As Reuben broke a biscuit into his portion, and sipped it,
he thought he had never enjoyed a meal so much. He had now been,
for eighteen hours, wet through to the skin; and the coffee sent a
warm glow through him.

The captain ordered all hands, save a few absolutely required on
deck, to turn in; and Reuben was soon in a glow of warmth beneath
his blankets and, lulled by the now easy motion of the ship, was
fast asleep in a few minutes.

After four hours' sleep, he was again on deck. The gale was blowing
as strongly as ever, three men were at the helm, and the vessel was
still tearing along at great speed. Several of the male passengers
were on the poop, and the contrast between the appearance of the
Paramatta at the same hour on the previous day, and that which she
presented now, struck Reuben very strongly. Sadly, indeed, she
looked with mizzen mast gone, the main mast shortened to the cap,
and all the upper spars and rigging of the fore mast gone. She was,
however, making good weather of it, for her hold was now so dry
that the pumps were worked only on alternate hours, and the relief
afforded by the loss of all her top hamper was very great.

For a week the Paramatta ran before the gale. At the end of the
fourth day its force somewhat abated, but it still blew much too
hard for anything to be done towards getting up fresh spars; while
the lost mizzen rendered it impossible for them to bring her up
into the wind.

"It's bitterly cold, Bill," Reuben said. "Its been getting colder
every day, but this morning it is really bitter."

"And no wonder, lad, seeing that we have been racing south for
pretty nigh a week. We have been making a little easting, but that
is all, and we are getting into the region of ice. We may see some
bergs any time now."

"I should like to see an iceberg," Reuben said.

"The fewer we see of them the better," Bill replied, "for they are
about as nasty customers as you want to meet. I expected w