ster in the vessel.

"Well out of that, sir," said Swinburne, as I limped aft. "By the Lord
Harry! it might have been a _pretty go_."

Having shaped our course for Barbadoes, I dressed my leg and went down
to sleep. This time I did not dream of Celeste, but fought the Spaniards
over again, thought I was wounded, and awoke with the pain of my leg.

Chapter LI

Peter turned out of his command by his vessel turning bottom up--A
cruise on a main-boom, with sharks _en attendant_--Self and crew, with
several flying fish, taken on board a negro boat--Peter regenerates by
putting on a new outward man.

We made Barbadoes without any further adventure, and were about ten
miles off the bay, steering with a very light breeze, and I went down
into the cabin, expecting to be at anchor before breakfast the next
morning. It was just daylight, when I found myself thrown out of my
bed-place on the deck, on the other side of the cabin, and heard the
rushing of water. I sprang up, I knew the schooner was on her beam ends,
and gained the deck. I was correct in my supposition: she had been upset
by what is called a white squall, and in two minutes would be down. All
the men were up on deck, some dressed, others, like myself, in their
shirts. Swinburne was aft; he had an axe in his hand, cutting away the
rigging of the main-boom. I saw what he was about; I seized another, and
disengaged the jaw-rope and small gear about the mast. We had no other
chance; our boat was under the water, being hoisted up on the side to
leeward. All this, however, was but the work of two minutes; and I could
not help observing by what trifles lives are lost or saved. Had the axe
not been fortunately at the capstern, I should not have been able to cut
the jaw-rope, Swinburne would not have had time, and the main-boom would
have gone down with the schooner. Fortunately we had cleared it; the
schooner filled, righted a little, and then sank, dragging us and the
main-boom for a few seconds down in its vortex, and then we rose to the
surface.

The squall still continued, but the water was smooth. It soon passed
over, and again it was nearly calm. I counted the men clinging to the
boom, and found that they were all there. Swinburne was next to me. He
was holding with one hand, while with the other he felt in his pocket
for a quid of tobacco, which he thrust into his cheek. "I wasn't on deck
at the time, Mr Simple," said he, "or this wouldn't have happened.