ng more easily on the waves which were now higher and farther
apart than before. In another hour the whole of the shore-line was
visible; but the wind had risen so much that, even under her reduced
sail, the boat had as much as she could carry, and often heeled over
until her gunwale was nearly under water. Another hour and the shore was
but some four miles away, but Vincent felt he could no longer hold on.

In the hands of an experienced sailor, who would have humored the boat
and eased her up a little to meet the seas, the entrance to the York
River could no doubt have been reached with safety; but Vincent was
ignorant of the art of sailing a boat in the sea, and she was shipping
water heavily. Dan had for some time been baling, having only undertaken
the work in obedience to Vincent's angry orders, being too ill to care
much what became of them.

"Now, Dan, I am going to bring her head up to the wind, so get ready to
throw off that halyard and gather in the sail as it comes down. That's
right, man, now down with the mast."

Vincent had read that the best plan, when caught in an open boat in a
gale, was to tie the oars and mast, if she had one, together, and to
throw them overboard with the head rope tied to them, as by this means
the boat would ride head to sea. The oars, sculls, mast, and sail were
firmly tied together and launched overboard, the rope being first taken
off the anchor and tied round the middle of the clump of spars.

Vincent carefully payed out the rope till some fifteen yards were over,
then he fastened it to the ring of the head rope, and had the
satisfaction of finding that the boat rode easily to the floating
anchor, rising lightly over the waves, and not shipping a drop of water.
He then took the baler and got rid of the water that had found its way
on board, Dan, after getting down the sail, having collapsed utterly.

"Now, Dan, sit up; there, man, the motion is much easier now, and we are
taking no water on board. I will give you a glass of rum, that will put
new strength into you. It's lucky we put it in the basket in case of
emergency."

The negro, whose teeth were chattering from cold, fright, and
exhaustion, eagerly drank off the spirit. Vincent, who was wet to the
skin with the spray, took a little himself, and then settled himself as
comfortably as he could on the floorboards in the stern of the boat, and
quietly thought out the position. The wind was still rising, and a thick
haze