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They would not have been midshipmen had they not had a jocular remark or two to make upon the subject, but it was all said in good part. The wind continued to blow hard during the whole of that day, but toward sunset it moderated somewhat, and veered a point or two to the northward. The ship had been under close-reefed topsails and fore-topmast staysail ever since midnight of the night before.
Instead of improving, it became worse and worse; two of her boats were washed away, the wheel and the steering apparatus damaged, and numerous other injuries were received. She would, indeed, have been compelled to put in to Cadiz, had not the wind shifted to the southward; when, setting her close-reefed topsails, she ran on before the gale.
He immediately made the signal for the fleet to follow the motions of the commander-in-chief. By this time, his own main-sail, close-reefed, had taken the place of the torn top-sail, and the Plantagenet led off to the southward again, as if nothing unusual had occurred.
There was no man at the wheel and no look-out, for the vessel was "hove-to" under two close-reefed topsails and fore-topmast-staysail, with the wheel lashed hard down.
The wind blew quite fresh during the night from about N.E. by N. To-day it is blowing a moderate gale from about N.N.E. This is probably a norther from the American coast, modified by its contact with the N.E. trade wind. The clouds look hard and wintry. Close-reefed at nightfall.... The gale has continued all day, with a rough sea, in which the ship is rolling and tumbling about.
I close-reefed my ears that is to say, I bent the flaps of them down and furled them into five or six folds, and pressed them against the hearing-orifice but it did no good: the faculty was so sharpened by nervous excitement that it was become a microphone and could hear through the overlays without trouble. My anger grew to a frenzy.
She felt greatly relieved on seeing him. "Oh, what has happened?" she exclaimed as he came below. "Only a regular Cape Horn gale," he answered. "We have got the ship under close-reefed fore and main topsails, and she is behaving nobly. It is cold, to be sure; but the men have been sent below, as they could be spared, to put on warmer clothing, and we shall get out of it some day or other."
Gazing at this cloud-bank for a few minutes, the captain turned and ordered the top-sails to be close-reefed, and most of the other sails either furled or reduced to their smallest size. He was in good time, and the vessel was ready for the gale, when it rushed down on them hissing like a storm-fiend.
Then, as the mercury still went on droppin', he shortened sail to close-reefed fore and main taups'ls, sent the t'gallan' masts down on deck, and housed the topmasts.
We clewed down, and hauled out the reef-tackles again, and close-reefed the fore-topsail, and furled the main, and hove her to, on the starboard tack. Here was an end to our fine prospects. We made up our minds to head winds and cold weather; sent down the royal yards, and unrove the gear; but all the rest of the top hamper remained aloft, even to the sky-sail masts and studding-sail booms.
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