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Updated: May 26, 2025
I had scarcely begun my long deferred meal when Sandy entered. He was before his time, and he looked as solemn as a sick owl. I seized on him as a drowning man clutches a spar. He heard my story of Rasta with a lengthening face. 'That's bad, he said. 'You say he spotted you, and your subsequent doings of course would not disillusion him.
When the spars came up he had one of them rigged with a tackle running to the foremast, and set its foot in the wooden contrivance just finished. It swung out forward like a great jibboom. The crew saw what was in the Captain's mind and gave a ringing yell of joy. A score of willing hands made fast the stays to windward and others spread the spare sail from the upper end of the spar.
I nowhere observed mica in this formation, and rarely hornblende; where the latter mineral did occur, I was generally in doubt whether the mass really belonged to this formation, or was of intrusive origin. Calcareous spar occasionally occurs in small cavities; and nests and layers of epidote are common.
As "Old Jock" with his shrewd seaman's eyes had anticipated, he had developed into a smart sailor, considering the short time he was learning, being now quicker than some of those who had been to sea for years and were thought good hands. On the present occasion he ran us a rare race with the main-royal yard, we getting the mizzen spar below but a second or two in advance of his party.
At length a lucky shot from the Aurora struck the schooner's fore-mast just below the eyes of the rigging, wounding the spar so badly that it almost immediately afterwards went, carrying away the main-topmast with it, and in an instant the whole of the pirate's top-hamper was towing to leeward, causing tremendous confusion on board, and placing the craft almost completely at the mercy of her antagonist.
At the same moment another shot came from the schooner, badly wounding our main- topmast above the cap, and the breeze reaching us almost immediately afterward, the spar went over the side, dragging down the mizzen topmast and the fore-topgallant-mast with it.
A painting on a vase found in Cyprus exhibits what would seem to have been a pleasure-vessel. It is unbeaked, and without any sign of oars, except two paddles for steering with. About midship is a short mast, crossed by a long spar or yard, which carries a sail, closely reefed along its entire length.
The scene was perfectly enchanting; the mountains were bathed in a delicate rose-purple glow reflected from the past pomp of the sun's rising, the water was still as an inland lake, and every mast and spar of the 'Diana' was reflected in it as in a mirror.
From the ivy of the church the little birds come chaffering and twittering among the shrouds, and the pigeon will perch upon a spar, so that the sea-gull, the far-searcher, must wonder as he passes on a slant of silent leathers at its daring thus to utilise the device of the outermost seas and the most vehement storms.
The jerking spar smote them in the ribs; once or twice the reefing tackle beneath it was torn from their hands; but they mastered the sail, tying two reefs in it, to reduce its size; and the craft drove away with her lee rail just awash. "You'd better go down and get some crackers," Vane advised his comrade. "You'll find them rolling up and down the floor.
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