it, that any craft of her size could have gone
through such a sea as this and shipped so little water. We have had
a few big 'uns come on board, but in general she goes over them
like a duck. It is hard work forward. You have got to keep your
back to it, for you can hardly get your breath if you face it. If
it was not for the lashings, it would blow you right away.

"I have been at sea in gales that we thought were big ones, but
nothing like this. Of course, with our heavy ballast and bare
poles, she don't lie over much. It is the sea and not the wind that
affects her, and her low free board is all in her favour. But I
believe a ship with a high side and yards and top hamper would be
blown down on her beam ends and kept there."

"Do you think that it blows as hard as it did, Purvis?"

"There ain't much difference, sir; but I do think there ain't quite
so much weight in it. I expect we are working our way out of it. We
have been twice round the compass. It is lucky we had not got down
among the islands before we caught it. I would not give much for
our chances if we had been there, for these gales gradually wear
themselves out as they get farther from the islands."

In six hours the weather had so far moderated that they were able
to hoist the reefed foresail, and two hours later the trysail was
set with all the reefs in. These were shaken out in a short time,
the wind dying away fast. Half the crew had turned into their
hammocks some time before, and the regular watch was now set. The
motion of the ship, however, was very violent, for there was a
heavy tumbling sea still on, the waves having no general direction,
but tossing in confused masses and coming on to the deck, now on
one side, now on the other.

At midnight Frank also turned in, in his clothes; but he was soon
up again, for the motion of the yacht was so violent that he found
it next to impossible to keep from being jerked out of his berth.
The first mate had had four hours off duty, and had just come up
again to relieve the captain.

"It is lucky, sir, that all our gear is nearly new," he said; "for
if it had not been, this rolling would have taken the mast out of
her. The strain on the shrouds each time that she gets chucked over
must be tremendous."

"It would have been better, for this sort of work, if we had had
ten feet taken off that stick before we started."

"Well, just for the present it would have been better, sir; but
even if we had had