h; and the course of the Maud was only a
couple of points from taking it directly aft, so that she was running
too nearly before it for the comfort of those on board of her. But she
had a little slant, and a close-reefed foresail had been set in the
first dog-watch, and she had carried it all night.

The only difficulty about the Maud was her size when it blew hard and
there was a heavy sea. She was too small to be at all steady on great
waves, though the larger they were the better weather she made of it.
Her worst behavior was in a smart, choppy sea, when the waves were not
long, but short and violent. But this was not the kind of a sea she had
through the night.

In a heavy sea of any kind she made a good deal of fuss; and being only
forty feet long it could not be otherwise. She pitched tremendously, and
mixed in a considerable roll every time she rose and fell; and it was
not an easy thing for even a sailor to get about on her deck. Life-lines
had been extended wherever they were needed, and all the ship's company
were used to the erratic ways of the diminutive craft. After all, she
was larger than some of the vessels used by the early voyagers to
America, some of whose craft were not even provided with decks.

When the Maud was prepared for heavy weather she was as tight as a drum;
and while the heavy seas rolled the whole length of her, not a bucketful
of them found its way below her deck. The only danger of taking in a
dangerous sea was at the scuttle on the forecastle, which was the usual
door of admission to the forecastle below, where the two engineers and
the cook had their quarters.

The steamer when she made a dive into a sea scooped up a quantity of
water, which she spilled out over the rails, or over the taffrail in the
standing-room. The captain had therefore ordered this scuttle to be
secured below, so that it could not be removed. Those who had occasion
to go below in that part of the vessel were compelled to do so through
the fire-room. Though Scott was a bold and brave fellow, and even
daring when the occasion required, he was a prudent commander, and never
took any unnecessary chances.

But not a person on board had been permitted to "turn in" as the thing
was done in moderate weather. The sail on the upper deck required one
hand to stand by it all the time, though he was relieved every two
hours. The engineers and the cook had broad divans upon which they could
take a nap, and the sailing-for