he thought that he would rather die where he lay in his hammock than
turn out and dress. The ship was tumbling about more violently than
ever; the noise was terrific; the loud voices of the men giving
utterance to coarse oaths as they awoke from their sleep; their shouts
and cries; the roaring of the wind as it found its way through the open
hatches down below; the rattling of the blocks; the creaking of timbers
and bulkheads, and the crash of the sea against the sides of the ship,
made Paul suppose that she was about to sink into the depths of the
ocean. "I'll die where I am," he thought to himself. "Oh, my dear
mother and sisters, I shall never see you more!" But at that instant a
kick and a blow inflicted by Sam Coulson, one of the boatswain's mates,
made him spring up.

"What, skulking already, you young hedgehog," exclaimed the man; "on
deck with your or your shoulders shall feel a taste of my colt."

Although Paul was as quick in his movements as his weak state would
allow, a shower of blows descended on his back, which brought him on his
knees, when, ordering him to pick himself up and follow, on pain of a
further dose of the colt, Sam Coulson passed on. The sharp tattoo of a
drum beaten rapidly sounded at the same time through the ship; but what
it signified Paul in his ignorance could not tell, nor was there any one
near him to ask. Bewildered and unable to see in the darkness, he tried
in vain to gain the hatchway. He groped his way aft as fast as he
could, for fear of encountering the boatswain's mate. "If the ship
sinks I must go down with her; but anything is better than meeting him,"
he thought to himself. "Besides, I cannot be worse off than those on
deck, I should think."

He worked his way aft till he found himself near the midshipmen's
chests; there was a snug place between two of them in which he had more
than once before ensconced himself when waiting to be summoned by his
masters. "Here I'll wait till I find out what is happening," he said to
himself as he sank down into the corner. The din continued, the frigate
tumbled about as much as before, but he was very weary, and before long
he forgot where he was, and fell fast asleep.

He was at length awoke by a crashing sound, as if the timbers were being
rent apart. What could it be? He started up, scarcely knowing where he
was. Had the ship struck on a rock, or could she be going down? There
was then a loud report; another and anot