om
the northward than at first."

"Well," said he, thrusting his bare feet into his slippers, "let us go
on deck and take a look round."

And, he leading the way, we forthwith trundled up the companion-ladder
and stepped out on deck.

It seemed to have grown blacker and more threatening than ever during
the short time that I had been below, although that may have been due to
the contrast between the light of the cabin and the darkness on deck;
the ruddy tinge on the cloud edges, however, was even more pronounced
than before, the colour having slightly changed and grown more like the
hue of red-hot copper. Ryan was evidently much astonished--and, I
thought, somewhat dismayed--by what he saw.

"By the powers!" he ejaculated, "you did right to call me, Dugdale. If
we were in the Indian Ocean, now, I would say that a cyclone was
brewing; and, now I come to think of it, there is no Act of Parliament
against one brewing here. How is the glass _now_? has it dropped
anything since you last looked at it?"

I went to the skylight and once more peered at the mercury.

"Yes, indeed, sir, it has," answered I, "it has gone down nearly
one-tenth!"

"Then, by the piper, we're in for something out of the common, and the
sooner we set about preparing for it, the better!" exclaimed Ryan. "Ah!
I see you have already furled everything; well, that leaves us so much
the less to be still done. Call all hands, however, for we may have it
upon us at any moment, by the look of things up there," pointing to the
frowning, ruddy sky. "Rig in the jib-boom, and send down all but the
lower-yard on deck, and both topmasts as well. Set some of the men to
secure the canvas with double gaskets; and close-reef the boom-foresail
and set it. Let the carpenter look to the hatches and see that they are
securely battened down, and he had better examine the pumps also; our
lives may depend upon them before all is over. Where is the boatswain?
Oh, is that you, Bartlett? Give an eye to the boats' gripes, will you,
and see that they are all right. I have known a boat to be blown clean
from the davits before now. Hurrah, men! look alive with those yards,
and let us have them down here on deck as quickly as possible."

The schooner was by this time as busy as a beehive in swarming-time, the
men working with a will, since they knew, from the sharp, incisive tones
in which Ryan issued his orders, as well as by the menacing aspect of
the sky, that t