he
readiness of their art, and even the greatness of that conception which is
the property of genius. All distinctions of rank and authority had ceased,
except as deference was paid to natural qualities and the intelligence of
experience. Under such circumstances, the 'Skimmer of the Seas' took the
lead; and though Ludlow caught his ideas with professional quickness, it
was the mind of the free-trader that controlled, throughout, the
succeeding exertions of that fearful night.

The cheek of Alida was blanched to a deadly paleness; but there rested
about the bright and wild eyes of Seadrift, an expression of supernatural
resolution.

When the crew abandoned the hope of extinguishing the flames, they had
closed all the hatches, to retard the crisis as much as possible. Here and
there, however, little torch-like lights were beginning to show themselves
through the planks, and the whole deck, forward of the main-mast, was
already in a critical and sinking state. One or two of the beams had
failed, but, as yet, the form of the construction was preserved. Still the
seamen distrusted the treacherous footing, and, had the heat permitted the
experiment, they would have shrunk from a risk which at any unexpected
moment might commit them to the fiery furnace beneath.

The smoke ceased, and a clear, powerful light illuminated the ship to her
trucks. In consequence of the care and exertions of her people, the sails
and masts were yet untouched; and as the graceful canvas swelled with the
breeze, it still urged the blazing hull through the water.

The forms of the Skimmer and his assistants were visible, in the midst of
the gallant gear, perched on the giddy yards. Seen by that light, with his
peculiar attire, his firm and certain step, and his resolute air, the
free-trader resembled some fancied sea-god, who, secure in his immortal
immunities, had come to act his part in that awful but exciting trial of
hardihood and skill. Seconded by the common men, he was employed in
cutting the canvas from the yards. Sail after sail fell upon the deck,
and, in an incredibly short space of time, the whole of the fore-mast was
naked to its spars and rigging.

In the mean time, Ludlow, assisted by the Alderman and Francois, had not
been idle below. Passing forward between the empty ridge-ropes, lanyard
after lanyard parted under the blows of their little boarding-axes. The
mast now depended on the strength of the wood and the support of a singl