and I racked my
brains to devise some means of helping them, but could think of nothing
feasible. I thought first of all of trying to slip the anchor and let
the ship drift in their direction, but I was by no means sure that she
would actually do this. Besides, I reflected, she might strike on some
of the insidious coral reefs that abound in those fair but terribly
dangerous seas. So I came to the conclusion that it would be better to
let her remain where she was--at least, for the time being. Moreover, I
felt sure that the captain, with his knowledge of those regions, would
know of some island or convenient sandbank, perhaps not very far distant,
on which he might run his boat for safety until the storm had passed.

The boats receded farther and farther from view, until, about nine in the
morning, I lost sight of them altogether. They had started out soon
after sunrise. It then occurred to me that I ought to put the ship into
some sort of condition to enable her to weather the storm, which was
increasing instead of abating. This was not the first storm I had
experienced on board the _Veielland_, so I knew pretty well what to do.
First of all, then, I battened down the hatches; this done, I made every
movable thing on deck as secure as I possibly could. Fortunately all the
sails were furled at the time, so I had no trouble with them. By mid-day
it was blowing so hard that I positively could not stand upright, but had
to crawl about on my hands and knees, otherwise I should have been hurled
overboard. I also attached myself to a long rope, and fastened the other
end to one of the masts, so that in the event of my being washed into the
raging sea, I could pull myself on board again.

Blinding rain had been falling most of the time, and the waves came
dashing over the deck as though longing to engulf the little ship; but
she rode them all in splendid style. The climax was reached about two
o'clock, when a perfect cyclone was raging, and the end seemed very near
for me. It made me shudder to listen to the wind screaming and moaning
round the bare poles of the sturdy little vessel, which rose on veritable
mountains of water and crashed as suddenly into seething abysses that
made my heart stand still. Then the weather suddenly became calm once
more--a change that was as unexpected as the advent of the storm itself.
The sky, however, continued very black and threatening, and the sea was
still somewhat boisterous;