attend below with the
carpenter and his mates, ready to cut away the cable at the moment that
I give the order. Silence, there, fore and aft. Quarter-master, keep her
full again for stays. Mind you ease the helm down when I tell you."
About a minute passed before the captain gave any further orders. The
ship had closed--to within a quarter of a mile of the beach, and the
waves curled and topped around us, bearing us down upon the shore, which
presented one continued surface of foam, extending to within half a
cable's length of our position. The captain waved his hand in silence to
the quarter-master at the wheel, and the helm was put down. The ship
turned slowly to the wind, pitching and chopping as the sails were
spilling. When she had lost her way, the captain gave the order, "Let go
the anchor. We will haul all at once, Mr Falcon," said the captain. Not
a word was spoken, the men went to the fore brace, which had not been
manned; most of them knew, although I did not, that if the ship's head
did not go round the other way, we should be on shore, and among the
breakers in half a minute. I thought at the time that the captain had
said that he would haul all the yards at once, there appeared to be
doubt or dissent on the countenance of Mr Falcon; and I was afterwards
told that he had not agreed with the captain, but he was too good an
officer, and knew that there was no time for discussion, to make any
remark; and the event proved that the captain was right. At last the
ship was head to wind, and the captain gave the signal. The yards flew
round with such a creaking noise, that I thought the masts had gone over
the side, and the next moment the wind had caught the sails, and the
ship, which for a moment or two had been on an even keel, careened over
to her gunnel with its force. The captain, who stood upon the
weather-hammock rails, holding by the main-rigging, ordered the helm
amidships, looked full at the sails, and then at the cable, which grew
broad upon the weather bow, and held the ship from nearing the shore. At
last he cried, "Cut away the cable!" A few strokes of the axes were
heard, and then the cable flew out of the hawsehole in a blaze of fire,
from the violence of the friction, and disappeared under a huge wave,
which struck us on the chess-tree, and deluged us with water fore and
aft. But we were now on the other tack, and the ship regained her way
and we had evidently increased our distance from the land. "