oft the rest of you; we must have those topsails close-
reefed. Cast-off the halliards--there--cheerily, men; that's the way to
do it!"

No sooner were the hands down from the topsail-yards, however, than he
had them up again to take in the courses, which had already been clewed
up and were now furled; the _Josephine_ lying-to under close-reefed
topsails, with the fore-topmast staysail set to keep her in command of
her helm.

She did not look so gay as she had done earlier in the day, with all her
snowy plumage spread before the favouring breeze; but, she was all the
better prepared to battle with the elements, and now steadily and
sturdily awaited their onset.

The struggle was not long delayed.

Closer and closer came the whirling water-spout, surrounded by columns
of misty spray and accompanied by the fierce wind. The sea was agitated
with violent eddies that rocked the ship to her centre every moment;
and, above the shriek of the constant squalls tearing through the
rigging, and the splash of the boiling water at the foot of the terrible
cloud column, we could distinguish a peculiar hoarse sucking noise, as
if the whole herd of Neptune's horses were drinking their fill, and
letting us know about it, too!

CHAPTER TEN.

DISRATED.

I can't say what the rest felt; but I know that I, for one, was
frightened when I heard that strange gurgling noise and saw the great
black thing, spinning round like a teetotum and swirling up the water,
coming down on our ship as if to overwhelm her!

The squalls, which succeeded each other from different directions in
rapid sequence, were even more dangerous than the water-spout; but
Captain Miles was too good a seaman to be easily beaten, even by the
most adverse circumstances.

Telling off some of the best hands to the fore and main-braces on either
side, so that these could be let go or hauled taut in an instant as the
wind shifted, thus necessitating the vessel changing her tack with
similar rapidity, he went to the helm himself; and from this point, with
the assistance of Moggridge, he conned the ship as coolly as if he were
in charge of a yacht trying to weather the mark-boat in a race so as to
get to windward of her competitors!

The captain was trying to make as much northing as he could, as well as
endeavouring to run out of reach of the water-spout, which latter,
although it gyrated about in the water so queerly and seemed moving
every way at once, came up m