every moment adding others to their
number, came sweeping towards them.

"We must look out for ourselves, my men," he exclaimed. "Lower the
sails while we have smooth water, and close reef them. We will try to
get under the lee of the land, till the fury of the tempest has passed."

The order was no sooner given than obeyed; and the sails were closely
reefed and hoisted again before the first blast of the tempest struck
the vessel. She had by this time performed rather more than two-thirds
of her voyage, so that she had some eight miles more to go over before
she could get under shelter of the land. If she could succeed in doing
this before the height of the storm came on, she would be in comparative
safety; and if not, she might be driven far up the gulf, before she
could get under the lee of any other shore. The safest plan would be at
once to run back for their own port, which there was every probability
of their reaching, though not quite a certainty, as a shift of the wind
might possibly drive them to the northward of it. As, however, Zappa
was anxious to ascertain all about the English ship, he determined to
persevere. I have already described one or two storms, and may probably
have to introduce two or three more, so I will not weary my readers by
telling them how the waves leaped and tumbled, and foamed; and the wind
roared and the vessel struggled madly through them. It is enough to say
that it blew a very hard gale, and that the oldest mariners on board
never wished to be out in a harder. Even Zappa himself, who was
accustomed to take things very philosophically, began to think, when it
was too late, that it would have been wiser to have gone quietly home
again.

They had, fortunately, kept well to windward of their course, and were
thus able to keep well away to fetch the north of the island; thus
bringing the wind and the sea abaft the beam. Two or three seas came
rolling up after them, just before they got well in with the land, and
very nearly swamped the _Zoe_, and drowned Zappa and all his crew; which
event would, doubtless, have been a very great benefit to society in
general, although, fortunately for the interest of my history, which it
would have materially injured, it did not occur; but the pirate and his
followers got safely into a little bay, where they dropped their anchor,
and offered up their thanksgivings to their patron saints, for having
preserved them from the great danger they