Under sail . night gave way to gray streaks ofdawn that broke upon us, revealing a scene ofutmost desolation. A note of order was givento the wild confusion of the gale-wracked fabric,when Chips, his lanky figure skimming along thelife line, and his sounding rod sheltered under hislong oil coat, ventured to the main fife rail tosound the well. As for the crew, we were soakedwith salt water and frozen to the marrow. Themain lower topsl had blown from the bolt ropesduring the night; we never missed it until mom- 114 UNDEK SAIL ing. Twenty feet of the lee bulwark—the portside—was gone, and a flap
Under sail . night gave way to gray streaks ofdawn that broke upon us, revealing a scene ofutmost desolation. A note of order was givento the wild confusion of the gale-wracked fabric,when Chips, his lanky figure skimming along thelife line, and his sounding rod sheltered under hislong oil coat, ventured to the main fife rail tosound the well. As for the crew, we were soakedwith salt water and frozen to the marrow. Themain lower topsl had blown from the bolt ropesduring the night; we never missed it until mom- 114 UNDEK SAIL ing. Twenty feet of the lee bulwark—the portside—was gone, and a flapping rag of canvas atthe main hatch told us that the tarpaulin wastorn. Looking forward through the whistle ofwind and spume that cut across the sharply tiltedrigging, the scene was one of terrific strife, asthough some demon ruler of the sea had massedhis forces, and was making a desperate drive forthe destruction of the wooden handiwork of manupon which he dared to venture over those for-bidden CHAPTER VIII BOUNDING THE HORN NO matter how miserable one may be, actionof some kind always comes as a relief. Ourhard lot on the Fuller was positively made morebearable by the added hardships of the storm,and when the night was past we were glad toforce our chilled limbs and hungry bellies to somesort of effort. Anything was better than to hangto the mizzen rigging and slowly freeze to torn hatch tarpaulin was a serious merchant service holds no higher duty, wherepassengers are not carried, than the duty towardcargo. This is often forgotten by men who lackthe true traditions of the sea. But our officerswere well alive to the importance, not only ofbringing our ship around the Horn, but of bring-ing her cargo through in good condition. The mate, followed by Axel, Brenden,Frenchy, and Mike, a husky, well-set-up sailorof the starboard watch, went into the waist andworked their way along the deck at great peril, 115 116 UNDER SAIL After much trouble they
Size: 2894px × 864px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectvoyagesandtravels
