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"That's bad," said the other; "it shows we've not got the worst of the cyclone yet." "No," replied the captain; "we've got that all to come! Luckily, I sent down the topgallant-masts yesterday evening, or we'd have had every stick out of her by now: they would have been safe to go when the foretop-mast went, if not before.
Then, another following sea pooped her and cleared the decks fore and aft, sweeping everything loose overboard, the maintopsail being split to pieces at the same time; while the foretop-mast stay-sail was blown clean away to leeward, floating in the air like a white kite against the dark background of the sky.
"Bravo, my boy!" shouted Lord Claymore and Rolf, in concert, as the Frenchman's foretop-mast went over the side. This caused him to luff up, and the "Scorpion," shooting ahead, poured a raking broadside into his bows. On this, the Frenchman's helm was put to starboard, by which he was able to fire his hitherto disengaged starboard broadside.
For more than half an hour the firing continued without advantage on either side, when a yell was given by the negro crew, and I heard them cry on the deck that the Arrow's foretop-mast was shot away. I heard the voice of Vincent cheering his men, and telling them to be steady in their aim. My heart sunk at the intelligence, and I sat down on a chest.
"Lay out forrard!" screamed the mate. "Lay out and furl it." After a desperate struggle, half the time more or less under water, two men dragged in and fastened the fragments of the jib, while others set the foretop-mast staysail in its place. But the wind was full of mischief; it seemed to be playing with the ship's company; it furnished one piece of work after another with dizzying rapidity.
When near the Platform we experienced a heavy squall, which carried away the foretop-mast and jib-boom, and, most singular to relate, although some miles from the shore after the squall had passed, we found some scores of very small crabs on the decks. I leave this phenomenon to longer heads than mine—although mine is not the shortest—to explain.
After numerous efforts, the fore-staff and the top-gallant mast were gotten down upon the deck, not without these honest men having a hundred times risked being precipitated into the sea, the rolling shook the masting to such an extent. Then, the top-sail having been lessened and the foresail furled, the schooner carried only her foretop-mast stay-sail and the low reef of the top-sail.
It became urgent to change once more the state of the sails, so as not to risk the security of the vessel. Dick Sand resolved to bring down his top-gallant mast and his fore-staff, and to furl his low sails, so as to sail under his foretop-mast stay-sail and the low reef of his top-sail.
The great rolling billows, as Maury has described them, were running high and fast, tossing their white caps in the air, looking like the green hills of a western prairie capped with snow, and chasing each other in sport; while the wind was still blowing a hurricane, and the ship, resembling a crippled bird with her foretop-mast gone, was running now before the gale under a single storm-staysail, that looked no bigger than an ordinary sized pocket-handkerchief, at a greater rate of speed than she would have done in a stiff breeze with all her canvas spread.
"Thank 'ee kindly," said the captain in reply, "but I'll only ask for a stick to rig up a foretop-mast to carry us to Batavia, where we'll give the old craft a regular overhaul for it's just possible she may have received some damage below the water-line, wi' bumpin' on the mast and yards."
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