en graver than when he left the deck.

"The glass is nearly down to twenty-eight," he said. "I never seed it
as low since I've been at sea. Take in the mains'l, Mr. McPherson, and
have the topsails reefed down!"

"Ay, ay, sir."

There was no lack of noise now as the men hauled at the halliards with
their shrill strange cries, which sounded like the piping of innumerable
sea-birds. Half a dozen lay out on the yard above, tucking away the
great sail and making all snug.

"Take a reef in the fores'l!" the mate roared, "and look alive about
it!"

"Hurry up, ye swabs!" Miggs bellowed. "You'll be blown away, every
mother's son of ye, if you don't stir yourselves!"

Even the two landsmen could see now that the danger was no imaginary
one, and that a storm was about to burst over them. The long black
lines of vapour had lengthened and coalesced, until now the whole
northern heaven was one great rolling black cloud, with an angry, ragged
fringe which bespoke the violence of the wind that drove it. Here and
there against the deep black background a small whitish or
sulphur-coloured wreath stood clearly out, looking livid and dangerous.
The whole great mass was sweeping onwards with prodigious and majestic
rapidity, darkening the ocean beneath it, and emitting a dull, moaning,
muttering sound, which was indescribably menacing and mournful.

"This may be the same gale as was on some days ago," Miggs remarked.
"They travel in circles very often, and come back to where they start
from."

"We are all snug aloft, but this ship won't stand much knocking about,
an' that's a fact," observed the mate gloomily.

It was blowing now in short frequent puffs, which ruffled the surface of
the water, and caused the _Black Eagle_ to surge slowly forward over the
rollers. A few drops of rain came pattering down upon the deck.
The great bank of cloud was above the ship, still hurrying wildly across
the heavens.

"Look out!" cried an old quartermaster. "Here she comes!"

As he spoke the storm burst with a shriek, as though all the demons of
the air had been suddenly unchained and were rejoicing in their freedom.
The force of the blast was so great that Girdlestone could almost have
believed that he had been struck by some solid object. The barque
heeled over until her lee rail touched the water, and lay so for a
minute or more in a smother of foam. Her deck was at such an angle that
it seemed as though she never could right he