backing of the screw, to make the
corvette's head pay off as we wore ship; but the strength of the nor'-
east gale was such, that hardly had we made the sheet fast, ere the jib
blew clean away from its lacing, with the sound of a gun going off,
while a big wave came over our weather side at the same time, and nearly
washed every man-jack off the forecastle, beside flooding the waist, the
sea rushing down in a torrent below through the after-hatchway which had
not been battened down as yet.

It was a ticklish operation wearing with such a wind and sea on, and
might have been attended with even worse peril than happened; for, if
caught in the trough of some wave, broadside on, we might have capsized,
instead of merely taking a hundred tons of water or so on board, which
we could have very well dispensed with.

However, it was our only chance of getting out of the way of the
approaching vessel--at least so our old commodore deemed, and he ought
to have been, and was too, the best judge.

And the ship!

None of us for a second or two thought of looking for her, the men all
rushing to their stations, and the port watch having been called on
deck, as well as us chaps belonging to the starboard division, who were
already there, in case of our broaching-to and our masts going by the
board--which everybody believed, I think, barring the commodore, would
have occurred.

Now, therefore, on our succeeding in paying off so handsomely without
any serious mishap, the _Active_ scudding and running before the wind
like a racehorse under her bare poles, so to speak, the scraps of storm
staysails we carried being not worth taking into account, the eyes of
every one were turned at once to windward to see what had become of the
stranger vessel.

She had completely disappeared!

Whether she had luffed up too suddenly on seeing the danger of a
collision between us, or had gone down all standing as she careered
onward, no one will ever know; for, though lookouts were sent aloft and
the horizon scanned in every direction, not a single trace of her was to
be seen anywhere in sight, albeit the billowy surface of the tempest-
tossed sea was so white with foam that any dark object would at once
have been distinguished on its tumid bosom.

Not a trace was to be seen of the fine ship, which a moment ago was
riding the waters like a thing of life, even if impelled to run before
the fury of the gale--either astern of us, or ahead; or on our