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The wind freshened and came squally, and the sea rose extraordinary high; it was such weather as any man in the islands would have turned his back to and fled home to Falesá; but these five were like crazy folk, and cracked on all sail and drove their boat into the seas.
About eleven, however, thin spray came flying over the friendly buttress, and I began to think the fog had hunted out its Jonah after all. But it was the last effort. The wind veered while we were at dinner, and began to blow squally from the mountain summit and by half-past one all that world of sea fogs was utterly routed and flying here and there into the south in little rags of cloud.
It was a dark squally night, with rain at intervals between the gusts of wind, and I was wet through long before I landed at the stairs, which was not until past eleven o'clock. I paid the waterman, and hastened up to my mother's house, being aware that they would either be all in bed or about to retire.
The men were still ranged round the decks, at their quarters; more than one pair of eyes were raised aloft to watch the masts, which were bending like coach-whips, and complaining bitterly. "Shall we beat a retreat, and pipe hands to shorten sail, sir? We had better take in the third reefs, sir? it looks, very squally to-night," observed the first-lieutenant.
It continued this squally and unsettled weather until the 30th, during some part of which time it blew so strong as to bring the ship under her reefed courses: after the 30th, the wind shifted to west and west by south, with which we stood to the south-ward; for with this wind we could not now fetch the Bashee Islands, and upon the southern tack we could not reach in with any part of the coast of the Philipine Islands; it was therefore, in our situation, judged best to keep as near in with the parallel of Cape Espiritu Sancto as possible, that being the nearest land, which with a hope of a short spurt of wind from the eastward, or a slant either from the northward or southward, would serve to carry us in with the coast: we were then in latitude 13° 25' north; longitude 128° 37' east; Cape Espiritu Sancto bearing south 75° 00' west, 58 leagues distant.
Paul Pringle used to boast among his friends that Billy True Blue was already a perfect seaman, and that he would sooner trust him at the helm on a squally night, or on the lookout forward on a dark one, than he would most men twice his age; but he took care never to say this in True Blue's own hearing, lest, as he observed, "the lad should larn to think too much of hisself."
Wind, North and West by North to North-West by West; course, South 39 degrees West; distance, 80 miles; latitude 58 degrees 4 minutes South, longitude 70 degrees 1 minute West. Sunday, 29th. First and Latter parts, fresh Gales and Squally, with flying Showers of rain and Hail; the Middle, strong Gales with heavy Squalls and showers of rain. At 8 p.m. took 2nd Reef Topsails, at 6 a.m.
In the P.M. had a fresh breeze at North-West until 3 o'Clock, at which time it came to West, and we Tack'd and stood to the Northward. At 5 o'Clock, being about 5 or 6 Leagues from the land, the Pidgeon house bearing West-South-West, distant 9 Leagues, sounded and had 86 fathoms. At 8, being very squally, with lightning, we close reef'd the Topsails and brought too, being then in 120 fathoms.
Wind North to North-East; course North 81 degrees East; distance 114 miles; latitude 41 degrees 11 minutes, longitude 27 degrees 52 minutes West. Sunday, 23rd. Fresh Gales and Squally, attended with Showers of rain. In the Evening all the Fleet were to Windward of us, and in the Morning not one was to be seen.
The weather became still more squally. The wind rushed through the white, foaming waves, and the ship groaned with its own wild and ungovernable labors, while nothing could be seen but the wild waste of waters. The scene was indeed one of fearful sublimity. Day came and went without any abatement of the storm. Despair was now on every countenance.
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