The topsail sheets and halliards, of course, had been let fly before we
left the deck; but in order not to expose the sail more than could be
helped to the force of the storm, the clewlines and buntlines were not
hauled open until we were up on the yard, so that the topsail should not
remain longer bagged in folds than necessary before we could furl it out
of harm's way.

Still, the precaution was of no avail; for hardly had the men on deck
handed the clewlines, when the sail, bulging out under our feet like a
huge bag, or rather series of bags, as the wind puckered its folds,
burst away from its bolt-ropes with a noise like the report of a gun
discharged close to our ears, just as if we had cut it from off the
yard, thus saving us any further trouble in furling it.

Casting my eyes round ere beginning the perilous task of climbing down
the shrouds again, for it was as much as one could do to hold on, the
sharp gusts when they caught one's legs twirling them about like
feathers in the air, the outlook was not merely grand but positively
awful. The sea was now rolling, without the slightest exaggeration but
literally speaking, mountains high as far as the eye could reach, and
the scud flying across my face in the mizzen cross-trees; while the
waves on either side of the ship, as we descended into the hollow
between them every now and then, were on a level with the yard-arms
below and even sometimes rose above these.

"Come, my men," I heard Mr Mackay calling out, as I at last put my foot
down to feel for the nearest ratline before commencing to descend the
rigging, "look sharp with that fore-tops'le or we'll have it go like the
mizzen!"

His words were prophetic.

"R-r-r-r-r-r-ip!" sounded the renting, tearing noise of the sail, almost
as soon as he spoke; and then, with a greater "bang!" than that of the
mizzen-topsail, the main topsail split first from clew to earing and the
next second blew away bodily to leeward, floating like a cloud as it was
carried along the crests of the rollers out of our ken in a minute. The
fore-topsail imitated its example the next moment, leaving the ship now
with only the reefed foresail on her in the shape of canvas, a wonderful
metamorphosis to the appearance she presented the previous evening at
sunset!

We had been trying to beat to windward, so as not to fall off our
course; but now that we had hardly a rag to stand by, the captain put up
the helm and let her run for it, the