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The fore and aft mainsail was then close reefed, the jib hauled down, and fore-topmast staysail hoisted; the royal yards were also sent down, and the brig then, under her smallest working canvas, was prepared to meet the tempest, in whatever way, or from whatever quarter it might come.
The poor mate's done his stunt on the mizzen." And so, by doing the seamanly work themselves and putting ropes into the hands of the crew, the mate and the two boatswains got sail on the ship, even to the jib-topsail and the mainroyal staysail. Captain Williams discreetly remained in the background, only asserting himself once, when he knocked an Irishman off the poop.
The sea rose rapidly; topsail after topsail was furled; and by dusk the Pacific was flying through the water with the wind on her quarter, under reefed foresail and storm staysail. It was with difficulty that three men at the wheel could keep the helm, such were the blows which the vessel received from the heavy seas on the quarter.
Wilton grasped the sheet of the fore-topmast staysail which was the nearest rope to him, and held on as though he was then in imminent danger of "falling overboard accidentally." "I won't say a word," protested he, vehemently; for he did not know but that Shuffles was wicked enough to push him into the sea. "Wilton, you are a fool!" added the disappointed conspirator, with deep disgust.
"Not he, sir," replied the first lieutenant; "he has gone to sleep somewhere: either in the tops or the fore-topmast staysail netting." "He appears to be a very troublesome boy," replied the captain. "Very useless, indeed, sir," replied the first lieutenant. "Sentry, have they found Mr Dott?" "No, sir; quarter-masters have been everywhere. He's not in the ship." "Very odd!" observed the captain.
The main-topsail was clewed up and fortunately saved, the mizzen-staysail was set. "Stand by, to cut away the stoppers of the best bower anchor to let it go, stock and fluke," said Captain G. "Man the fore-topmast-staysail down-haul; put your helm down! haul down the staysail."
Cavendish and a few men in the fore-part of the vessel were meanwhile striving manfully to hoist a staysail and get some way upon the ship, so as to help her to pay off before the sea, and so save her from being pooped by the waves, which were rising higher and higher every moment. At length the stability of the ship prevailed, and she began to right.
The bows had been stove in, it was true, and the bulkhead smashed, filling the fore compartment and bringing the ship's head so much down that it would be almost impossible to sail her even in a smooth sea; but the jury-mast, which had been rigged forward in place of the lost foremast, had gone over on the port bow, instead of falling to the starboard side of the ship like the other masts, and the fore staysail attached to it, dragging overboard, had got sucked into the hole which the iceberg had made, thus stopping the inrun of water to any appreciable extent Ben said that he believed they would be able so to patch up the damaged place in the bows after a time, thanks to this circumstance, that they might hope to make a shift of rigging up a sail again to run the ship ashore with.
"Oh, I was so frightened, Unky dear, but I is so happy now!" cried Pansy. "Bless my soul and body," cried Staysail at last, "how did all this happen?" Then he went forward a few paces, the little ones clinging to him all the time, and Veevee racing round the deck like a live muff. "Tom, you young rascal, jump down here at once. This is all your work. Now, give a full account of it, sir."
The schooner's distinctive peculiarities are, that it carries two masts, which usually "rake aft," or lean back a good deal; and its rig is chiefly fore-and-aft, like the sloop. Of the two masts, the after one is the main-mast. The other is termed the fore-mast. In front of the fore-mast are the staysail, the jib, and the flying-jib; these last are triangular sails.
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