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A deeper plunge than usual, a pause for a second, as if everything in the world suddenly stood still, and a great white giant seems to spring upon our weather-bow and to leap on board. We hear the crash and feel the shock, and presently the water comes pouring aft, and Captain Cope calls out to reef topsails, double-reef fore and mizzen, one reef in the main.
Indisposed to the uncertainty of a night-action, he declined bringing it on, and the lights disappeared from his ports an hour later; at that time the English ships, by carrying sail harder than was usual in so stiff a breeze, found themselves out of gun-shot, on the weather-bow of their enemies.
The men flung their oil-skins over their shoulders, and ranging themselves along the weather side of the boat, seated themselves on the bottom-boards, and away we went, jerk-jerking through it, the sea hissing and foaming past us to leeward, and the spray flying in a continuous heavy shower in over the weather-bow and right aft, drenching me through and through in less than five minutes.
Of this I at least am convinced, that God is perfect, and that all things are working towards a good end, God's sovereignty, our mysterious free-will and personal responsibility being among these `all things." While Captain Samson was discoursing on these important subjects, the look-out on the forecastle reported a sail on the weather-bow.
It was during the flickering of one of these somewhat prolonged gleams that the lookout on the forecastle-head reported: "A small sail, three points on the weather-bow, headin' to the east'ard, close under the land."
"She seems to be moving through the water very fast, light as is the wind," remarked the first lieutenant. "Ten minutes ago she was broad on our weather-bow, while now she is almost abeam. I expect we shall find that she is quite as fast as ourselves."
"D'ye see that steamer, broadish on the weather-bow?" I looked, and saw on the gray horizon a thin streak of a different gray. "I rose her a quarter of an hour ago," he went on, "and bore away a couple of points so as to cut her off. I'm thinking it wouldn't be a bad idea to speak her if it could be managed, and find out where we are.
Cape Horn, however, demanded his tribute, and before night sent us a gale of wind directly in our teeth. We stood out to sea, and on the second day again made the land, when we saw on our weather-bow this notorious promontory in its proper form veiled in a mist, and its dim outline surrounded by a storm of wind and water.
It would be impossible to describe the ecstatic emotions of the crew: every man was aloft, in order to be satisfied; though, a minute before, not one of the crew was able to stand upright. The sail was on our weather-bow, bearing right down on us with a smart breeze. She soon perceived us, but hauled her wind several times, in order to examine our ship.
At length she tried a gun, and the shot struck the water some distance ahead and on our weather-bow. We were nearly, if not quite, within range. A few minutes later she fired again, and this time the shot fell so close that the spray actually wetted our jib-boom.
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