abouring in the sea; but two or three of them drove, and came close by
us, running away with only their spritsail out before the wind.

Towards evening the mate and boatswain begged the master of our ship to
let them cut away the fore-mast, which he was very unwilling to do: but
the boatswain protesting to him, that if he did not, the ship would
founder, he consented; and when they had cut away the-fore-mast, the
main-mast stood so loose, and shook the ship so much, they were obliged
to cut her away also, and make a clear deck.

Any one may judge what a condition I must be in at all this, who was
but a young sailor, and who had been in such a fright before at but a
little. But if I can express at this distance the thoughts that I had
about me at that time, I was in tenfold more horror of mind upon account
of my former convictions, and the having returned from them to the
resolutions I had wickedly taken at first, than I was at death itself;
and these, added to the terror of the storm, put me in such a condition,
that I can by no words describe it. But the worst was not come yet; the
storm continued with such fury, that the seamen themselves acknowledged
they had never known a worse. We had a good ship, but she was deep
laden, and wallowed in the sea, that the seamen every now and then cried
out, she would founder. It was my advantage in one respect, that I did
not know what they meant by _founder_, till I inquired. However, the
storm was so violent, that I saw what is not often seen, the master, the
boatswain, and some others more sensible than the rest, at their
prayers, and expecting every moment when the ship would go to the
bottom. In the middle of the night, and under all the rest of our
distresses, one of the men that had been down on purpose to see, cried
out, we had sprung a leak; another said, there was four foot water in
the hold. Then all hands were called to the pump. At that very word my
heart, as I thought, died within me, and I fell backwards upon the side
of my bed where I sat, into the cabin. However, the men roused me, and
told me, that I, that was able to do nothing before, was as well able to
pump as another; at which I stirred up, and went to the pump and worked
very heartily. While this was doing, the master seeing some light
colliers, who, not able to ride out the storm, were obliged to slip and
run away to sea, and would not come near us, ordered us to fire a gun as
a signal of distress. I, who k