Of a
sudden he started up, reached forward, snatched the midships light,
and held it aloft against the wall of a tremendous sea arching
astern. At sight of it the fool lost all his remaining nerve, and
yelled to the two seamen forward to lash a couple of oars to the
painter and cast overboard. 'If we ran another hundred yards, we
were lost: there was no hope but to fetch around head-to-sea and ride
to it.'
"--Which, after some seven or eight sickening minutes, we did.
He was master, and Jarvis put down the helm and obeyed. Twice we
were heaved, tilted and slid sideways down, like folks perched on the
window-sills of a falling house. Then she came fair about and rode
to it, every crest flinging more or less of spray over us, hour after
hour. . . .
"But I must tell you one thing. From time to time we were roused up
in the darkness, to bale. Our work performed, we three passengers--
Santa and Farrell and I--would creep under the tarpauling anew, out
of the drumming rain, and coil there to sleep. . . . Ay, and once in
the pitch blackness under, she, mistaking, reached two arms around my
neck and with a long sigh, dead-beat, sank asleep.
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