by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER II
THE START
Harry Prendergast went down to Leadenhall Street and saw the managingowner of the _Para_. As Bertie had anticipated, Mr. Prosser, afterhearing Harry's statement that he wished to take a passage to Callao inthe vessel advertised to start in a week's time, and that he was muchobliged to them for giving Bertie a berth as supernumerary midshipman,said:
"We shall certainly have pleasure in putting your brother's name on theship's books. He has already explained to me his desire to go out withyou; we have had every reason to be satisfied with him since he enteredour service, and he had better draw pay as usual, as his service duringthe voyage will then count towards his time. As for yourself, we do notbook passengers, it is more bother than it is worth; but we have noobjection to our masters taking one or two. The addition of a mouth orso practically makes very little difference in the amount of ships'stores consumed. The masters pay us a small sum a head and make theirown terms with the passengers they take. In that way we are saved allcomplaints as to food and other matters. Of course a passenger wouldput on board for himself a stock of such wines, spirits, and littleluxuries as he may choose.
"You will find Captain Peters down at the docks. The last cargo hasbeen discharged, and they are giving an overhaul to the rigging andmaking a few repairs; he is not a man to leave his ship if he can helpit while work is going on there."
Harry at once went down.
"Well, sir," the captain said, when he had told him that he wished totake a passage to Callao, and that the owners had referred him to him,"I had fully made up my mind that I would not take passengers again. Onmy last voyage they were always grumbling at the food, expecting to betreated as if they were in a first-class hotel."
"I am not likely to grumble, Captain; I have been knocking about theKing's service since I was fourteen."
"Oh, you are a royal navy man, are you, sir?"
"I am; I am a lieutenant."
"That makes a difference; and I have no doubt we can arrange the matterto our satisfaction."
"I may tell you," Harry said, "that I have a younger brother coming outwith me. He is an apprentice nearly out of his time, and was on boardthe _Stella_ when she was sunk in the Channel. Your owners have kindlyarranged that he shall go out with you as a supernumerary; that is onereason why I wish to go in your ship."
The Master thought for a minute or two. "Well, Mr. Prendergast," hesaid, "I like having one of you naval gentlemen on board; if anythinggoes wrong it is a comfort to have your advice. If we have bad weatherround the Horn, could I rely upon you to give me a helping hand shouldI need it? I don't mean that you should keep watch or anything of thatsort, but that you should, as it were, stand by me. I have a new firstmate, and there is no saying how he may turn out. No doubt the firmwould make every enquiry. Still, such enquiries don't mean much; amaster doesn't like to damn a man by refusing to give him a goodcharacter. I dare say he is all right. Still, I should certainly feelvery much more comfortable if I had a naval officer with me. Now, sir,I pay the firm twelve pounds for each passenger I take as his share ofthe cabin stores; you pay me that, and I will ask for nothing for yourpassage. I cannot say fairer than that."
"You cannot indeed, Captain, and I feel very much obliged to you forthe offer--very much obliged. It will suit me admirably, and in case ofany emergency you may rely upon my aid; and if you have a spell of badweather I shall be quite willing to take a watch, for I know that inthe long heavy gales you meet with going round the Horn the officersget terribly overtaxed."
"And how about your brother?" the captain said; "as he is to be asupernumerary, I suppose that only means that the firm are willing thathe shall put in his time for his rating. I have never had asupernumerary on board, but I suppose he is to be regarded as apassenger rather than one of the ship's complement."
"No, Captain, he is to be on the pay-sheet; and I think he had muchbetter be put into a watch. He would find the time hang very heavy onhis hands if he had nothing to do, and I know he is anxious to learnhis profession thoroughly. As he is to be paid, there is no reason whyhe should not work."
"Very well; if you think so we will say nothing more about it. Ithought perhaps you would like to have him aft with you."
"I am much obliged to you, but I think the other way will be best; andI am sure he would feel more comfortable with the other apprenticesthan as a passenger."
"Are you going out for long, may I ask you, Mr. Prendergast?"
"For a couple of years or so. I am going to wander about and do someshooting and exploring and that sort of thing, and I am taking him withme as companion. I speak Spanish fairly well myself, and shall teachhim on the voyage, if you will allow me to do so. A knowledge of thatlanguage will be an advantage to him when he comes back into Prosser &Co.'s service."
"A great advantage," the captain agreed. "Most of us speak a littleSpanish, but I have often thought that it would pay the company to senda man who could talk the lingo well in each ship. They could call himsupercargo, and I am sure he would pay his wages three or four timesover by being able to bargain and arrange with the Chilians andPeruvians. In ports like Callao, where there is a British consul,things are all right, but in the little ports we are fleeced right andleft. Boatmen and shopkeepers charge us two or three times as much asthey do their own countrymen, and I am sure that we could get betterbargains in hides and other produce if we had someone who could knockdown their prices."
"When do you sail, Captain?"
"This day week. It will be high tide about eight, and we shall start towarp out of dock a good half-hour earlier, so you can either come onboard the night before or about seven in the morning."
"Very well, sir; we shall be here in good time. I shall bring my thingson board with me; it is of no use sending them on before, as they willnot be bulky and can be stored away in my cabin."
"This will be your state-room," the captain said, opening a door. "Ihave the one aft, and the first mate has the one opposite to you. Theothers are empty, so you can stow any baggage that you have in one ofthem; the second and third officers and the apprentices are in thedeck-house cabins."
"In that case, Captain, I will send the wine and spirits on board theday before. Of course I shall get them out of bond; I might havedifficulty in doing that so early in the morning. You will perhaps begood enough to order them to be stowed in one of the empty cabins."
"That will be the best plan," the captain said.
"When do the apprentices come on board?"
"The morning before we sail. There is always plenty to be done ingetting the last stores on board."
"All right! my brother will be here. Good-morning, Captain, and thankyou!"
The following morning at eleven Harry Prendergast was standing in frontof the entrance to the British Museum. A young lady came up. "It isvery imprudent of you, Harry," she said, after the first greeting, "toask me to meet you."
"I could not help it, dear; it was absolutely necessary that I shouldsee you."
"But it is of no use, Harry."
"I consider that it is of particular use, Hilda."
"But you know, Harry, when you had that very unpleasant talk with myfather, I was called in, and said that I had promised to wait two yearsfor you. When he found that I would not give way, he promised that hewould not press me, on the understanding that we were not to meet againexcept in public, and I all but promised."
"Quite so, dear; but it appears to me that this is surely a publicplace."
"No, no, Harry; what he meant was that I was not to meet you except atparties."
"Well, I should have asked you to meet me to-day even if I had had tostorm your father's house to see you. I am going away, dear, and hecould scarcely say much if he came along and found us talking here. Yousee, it was not likely that I should stumble across a fortune in thestreets of London. I have talked the matter over with Barnett--you knowour trustee, you have met him once or twice--and we came to theconclusion that the only possible chan
ce of my being able to satisfyyour father as to my means, was for me to go to Peru and try todiscover a gold mine there or hidden treasure. Such discoveries havebeen made, and may be made again; and he has supplied me with a letterto an Indian, who may possibly be able to help me."
"To Peru, Harry! Why, they are always fighting there."
"Yes, they do a good deal of squabbling, but the people in general havelittle to do with it; and certainly I am not going out to take any partin their revolutions. There is not a shadow of doubt that a number ofgold mines worked by the old people were never discovered by theSpaniards, and it is also certain that a great portion of the treasuresof the Incas is still lying hid. Barnett saved the life of a muleteerout there, and from what he said he believed that the man did knowsomething about one of these lost mines, and might possibly let me intothe secret. It is just an off chance, but it is the only chance I cansee. You promised your father that you would never marry without hisconsent, and he would never give it unless I were a rich man. Ifnothing comes of this adventure I shall be no worse off than I am atpresent. If I am fortunate enough to discover a rich mine or a hiddentreasure, I shall be in a position to satisfy his demand. I am going totake Bertie with me; he will be a cheerful companion, and even now heis a powerful young fellow. At any rate, if I get sick or anything ofthat sort, it would be an immense advantage to have him with me."
"I don't like the idea of your going, Harry," she said tearfully. "No,dear; and if I had the chance of seeing you sometimes, and of some dayobtaining your father's consent to the marriage, all the gold mines inPeru would offer no temptation to me. As it is, I can see nothing elsefor it. In some respects it is better; if I were to stay here I shouldonly be meeting you frequently at dances and dinners, never able totalk to you privately, and feeling always that you could never be mine.It would be a constant torture. Here is a possibility--a very remoteone, I admit, but still a possibility--and even if it fails I shallhave the satisfaction of knowing that I have done all that a man coulddo to win you."
"I think it is best that you should go somewhere, Harry, but Peru seemsto be a horrible place."
"Barnett speaks of it in high terms. You know he was four or five yearsout there. He describes the people as being delightful, and he hasnothing to say against the climate."
"I will not try to dissuade you," she said bravely after a pause. "Atpresent I am hopeless, but I shall have something to hope and pray forwhile you are away. We will say good-bye now, dear. I have come to meetyou this once, but I will not do so again, another meeting would butgive us fresh pain. I am very glad to know that your brother is goingwith you. I shall not have to imagine that you are ill in someout-of-the-way place without a friend near you; and in spite of thedangers you may have to run, I would rather think of you as bravelydoing your best than eating your heart out here in London. I shall nottell my father that we have met here; you had better write to him andsay that you are leaving London at once, and that you hope in two yearsto return and claim me in accordance with his promise. I am sure hewill be glad to know that you have gone, and that we shall not beconstantly meeting. He will be kinder to me than he has been of late,for as he will think it quite impossible that you can make a fortune intwo years he will be inclined to dismiss you altogether from his mind."
For another half-hour they talked together, and then they parted withrenewed protestations on her part that nothing should induce her tobreak her promise to wait for him for two years. He had given her theaddress of one of the merchants to whom Mr. Barnett had promised him aletter of introduction, so that she might from time to time write, forthe voyage would take at least four months and as much more would berequired for his first letter to come back. He walked moodily homeafter parting with her.
"Hullo, Harry! nothing wrong with you, I hope? why, you look as graveas an owl."
"I feel grave, Bertie. I have just said good-bye to Hilda; and though Ikept up my spirits and made the best of this expedition of ours, Icannot but feel how improbable it is that we shall meet again--that isto say, in our present relations; for if I fail I certainly shall notreturn home for some years; it would be only fair to her that I shouldnot do so. I know that she would keep on as long as there was any hope,but I should not care to think that she was wasting her life. I was anass to believe it could ever be otherwise, and I feel that the bestthing for us both would have been for me to go away as soon as I foundthat I was getting fond of her."
"Well, of course I cannot understand it, Harry, and it seems to me thatone girl is very like another; she may be a bit prettier than theaverage, but I suppose that comes to all the same thing in anothertwenty years. I can understand a man getting awfully fond of his ship,especially when she is a clipper. However, some day I may feeldifferent; besides, how could you tell that her father would turn outsuch a crusty old beggar?"
"I suppose I did not think about it one way or the other, Bertie,"Harry said quietly. "However, the mischief is done, and even if therewas no chance whatever of making money I should go now for my own sakeas well as hers. Well, it is of no use talking more about it; we willgo out now and buy the rifles. I shan't get them new, one can pick upguns just as good at half the price, and as I know something aboutrifles I am not likely to be taken in. Of course I have got my pistolsand only have a brace to buy for you. You will have time on the voyageto practise with them; if you did not do that you would be as likely toshoot me as a hostile Indian."
"Oh, that is bosh!" the boy said; "still, I certainly should like to bea good shot."
After getting the rifles and pistols, Harry went into the city andordered six dozen of wine and three dozen of brandy to be sent on boardout of bond; he also ordered a bag of twenty pounds of raw coffee, achest of tea, and a couple of dozen bottles of pickles and sauces, tobe sent down to the docks on the day before the _Para_ sailed. Anothersuit of seafaring clothes and a stock of underclothing was ordered forBertie. Harry spent the intervening time before the vessel sailed inlooking up his friends and saying good-bye to them, and drove down tothe docks at the appointed time, his brother having joined the ship onthe previous day.
The _Para_ was a barque-rigged ship of some eight hundred tons. Atpresent she did not show to advantage, her deck being littered withstores of all kinds that had come on board late. The deck planks wherethey could be seen were almost black, the sails had been partly loosedfrom the gaskets, and to an eye accustomed to the neatness and order ofa man-of-war her appearance was by no means favourable; but her sidesshone with fresh paint, and, looking at her lines from the wharf, Harrythought she would be both fast and a good sea-boat. She was not heavilyladen, and stood boldly up in the water. Nodding to Bertie, who wasworking hard among the men, he went up on to the poop, from whichCaptain Peters was shouting orders.
"Glad to see you, sir," the captain said; "she looks rather in a litterat present, doesn't she? We shall get her all ataunto before we getdown to the Nore. These confounded people won't send their stores onboard till the last moment. If I were an owner I should tell allshippers that no goods would be received within five or six hours ofthe ship's time for sailing; that would give us a fair chance, insteadof starting all in a muddle, just at the time, too, when more than anyother one wants to have the decks free for making short tacks downthese narrow reaches. I believe half the wrecks on the sands at themouth of the river are due to the confusion in which the ships start.How can a crew be lively in getting the yards over when they have to goabout decks lumbered up like this, and half of them are only justrecovering from their bout of drink the day before?"
Up to the last moment everyone on board was hard at work, and when theorder was given to throw off the hawsers the deck was alreadycomparatively clear. Half an hour later the vessel passed out throughthe dock gates, with two boats towing ahead so as to take her well outinto the river; the rest of the crew were employed in letting the sailsdrop. As soon as she gathered way the men in the boats were called in,the boats themselves being towed behind in case they might again be
required.
The passage from the Pool to the mouth of the river was in those daysthe most dangerous portion of the voyage. There were no tugs to seizethe ships and carry them down to the open water, while the channelsbelow the Nore were badly buoyed and lighted, and it was no uncommonthing for twenty vessels to get upon the sands in the course of asingle tide.
The wind was light, and being northerly helped them well on their way,and it was only in one or two reaches that the _Para_ was unable to layher course. She overtook many craft that had been far ahead of her, andanswered the helm quickly.
"She is both fast and handy, I see," Harry Prendergast, who had beenwatching her movements with interest, remarked.
"Yes; there are not many craft out of London can show her their heelswhen the wind is free. She does not look quite so well into the wind asI should wish; still, I think she is as good as most of them."
"I suppose you will get down to Gravesend before the tide turns?"
"Yes, we shall anchor there. The wind is not strong enough for us tostem the tide, which runs like a sluice there. Once past the Nore onecan do better, but there is no fighting the tide here unless one has asteady breeze aft. I never feel really comfortable till we are fairlyround the South Foreland; after that it is plain sailing enough. Thoughthere are a few shoals in the Channel, one can give them a wide berth;fogs are the things we have to fear there."
"Yes. I have never been down the river, having always joined my shipseither at Portsmouth or Plymouth, so I know very little about it; but Iknow from men who have been on board vessels commissioned at Chatham orSheerness that they are thankful indeed when they once get round theGoodwins and head west."
"Well, Mr. Prendergast, I am against these new-fangled steamboats--Isuppose every true sailor is; but when the _Marjory_ began to runbetween London and Gravesend eighteen years ago--in '15 I think itwas--folks did say that it would not be long before sailing craft wouldbe driven off the sea. I did not believe that then, and I don't believeit now; but I do say that I hope before long there will be a lot ofsmall steamers on the Thames, to tow vessels down till they are off theNorth Foreland. It would be a blessing and a comfort to us mastermariners. Once there we have the choice of going outside the Goodwins,or taking a short cut inside if the wind is aft. Why, sir, it would addyears to our lives and shorten voyages by weeks. There we are, now,sometimes lying off the Nore, five hundred sail, waiting for the windto shift out of the east, and when we do get under weigh we have alwaysto keep the lead going. One never knows when one may bump upon thesands. Some masters will grope their way along in the dark, but for mypart I always anchor. There are few enough buoys and beacons indaytime, but I consider that it is tempting Providence to try and godown in a dark night. The owners are sensible men and they know that itis not worth while running risks just to save a day or two when youhave got a four months' voyage before you. Once past Dover I am readyto hold on with anyone, but between the Nore and the North Foreland Ipick my way as carefully as a woman going across a muddy street."
"You are quite right, Captain; I thoroughly agree with you. More shipsget ashore going down to the mouth of the Thames than in any other partof the world; and, as you say, if all sailing ships might be taken downby a steamer, it would be the making of the port of London."
"Your brother is a smart young chap, Mr. Prendergast. I was watchinghim yesterday, and he is working away now as if he liked work. He hasthe makings of a first-rate sailor. I hold that a man will never becomea first-class seaman unless he likes work for its own sake. There arethree sorts of hands. There is the fellow who shirks his work wheneverhe has a chance; there is the man who does his work, but who does itbecause he has to do it, and always looks glad when a job is over; andthere is the lad who jumps to his work, chucks himself right into it,and puts his last ounce of strength on a rope. That is the fellow whowill make a good officer, and who, if needs be, can set an example tothe men when they have to go aloft to reef a sail in a stiff gale. So,as I understand, Mr. Prendergast, he is going to leave the sea for abit. It seems a pity too."
"He will be none the worse for it, Captain. A year or so knocking aboutamong the mountains of Peru will do more good to him than an equal timeon board ship. It will sharpen him up, and give him habits of relianceand confidence. He will be all the better for it afterwards, evenputting aside the advantage it will be to him to pick up Spanish."
"Yes, it may do him good," the captain agreed, "if it does not takeaway his liking for the sea."
"I don't think it will do that. If the first voyage or two don't sickena lad, I think it is pretty certain he is cut out for the sea. Ofcourse it is a very hard life at first, especially if the officers area rough lot, but when a boy gets to know his duty things go more easilywith him; he is accustomed to the surroundings, and takes to the food,which you know is not always of the best, with a good appetite. Bertiehas had three years of it now, and when he has come home I have neverheard a grumble from him; and he is not likely to meet with suchluxuries while we are knocking about as to make him turn up his nose atsalt junk."
The tide was already turning when they reached Gravesend. As soon asthe anchor was down the steward came up to say that dinner was ready.
"I am not at all sorry," Harry said as he went below with the captain."I ate a good breakfast before I started at half-past six, and I wentbelow and had a biscuit and bottle of beer at eleven, but I feel ashungry as a hunter now. There is nothing like a sea appetite. I havebeen nearly two years on shore, and I never enjoyed a meal as I do atsea."
The crew had been busy ever since they left the dock, and the deck hadnow been scrubbed and made tidy, and presented a very differentappearance from that which met Harry's eye as he came on board.
Johnson, the first mate, also dined with the skipper. He was a tall,powerfully-built man. He was singularly taciturn, and took no share inthe conversation unless directly asked. He seemed, however, to be ableto appreciate a joke, but never laughed audibly, contenting himselfwith drawing his lips apart and showing his teeth.
The wind was light and baffling, so that they did not round the SouthForeland until the seventh day after leaving dock. After that it wasfavourable and steady, and they ran without any change until theyapproached the line; then there was a fortnight of calm. At last theygot the wind again, and made a rapid run until within five hundredmiles of Cape Horn. The captain was in high glee.
"We have done capitally so far, Mr. Prendergast. I don't think I evermade so rapid a run. If she goes on like this we shall reach Callaowithin three months of starting."
"I don't think the weather will continue like this," the mate said.
This was the first original observation he had made since he hadsailed, and Harry and the captain looked at him in surprise.
"You think there is going to be a change, Mr. Johnson?" the captainsaid, after a short pause to recover from his astonishment.
The mate nodded.
"Glass falling, sky hazy."
"Is the glass falling? I am ashamed to say I have not looked at it forthe past twenty-four hours. It has stuck so long at the same point thatI have quite ceased to look at it two or three times a day as I usuallydo."
"It has not fallen much, but it is sinking."
The captain got up from the table, and went to look at the glass.
"You are right, it has fallen a good eighth; but that may mean a changeof wind. Did you notice any change, Mr. Prendergast?"
"No, I can't say that I did. I looked up, as a sailor always does, whenI was on deck this morning, but it was clear enough then, and I havenot noticed it particularly since."
But when they went up on deck half an hour later both agreed that themate was right. The change overhead was slight, but away to the west adull reddish mist seemed to obscure the horizon.
"We will get the upper sails off at once, Mr. Johnson. These stormscome so suddenly off the coast that it is as well to lose no time inshortening sail when one sees any indication of such a change."
> The mate at once gave the necessary orders. The sailors started up withlooks of surprise.
"Look sharp, men!" the mate said. "We shall have wind, and plenty ofit. It will be here before long."
The men, who were by no means sorry for a spell of work after going solong without shifting sail or tack, worked hard, and the white sheetsof canvas were soon snugly furled. By this time all the sailors who hadbeen to sea for any time recognized the utility of their work. The lowbank had risen and extended the whole width of the western horizon.
"What do you think, Mr. Prendergast? Have we got enough off her?"
"I don't know about your storms here, Captain; but if it were in theLevant I should get every stitch of canvas off her exceptingclosely-reefed topsails, a storm jib, and fore stay-sail. The firstburst over, one can always shake out more canvas. However, you knowthese seas, and I do not."
"I think you are right. These pamperos, as we call them, are not to betrifled with."
"In that case there is no time to be lost, Captain, and with yourpermission I will lend a hand."
"All hands take in sail!" the captain shouted.
The mate led the way up the starboard shrouds, while Harry, throwingoff his coat, mounted those to port, closely followed by Bertie. Fiveminutes' hard work, and the _Para_ was stripped for the struggle.
"That is a good job done," the skipper said to Harry as he reached thedeck.
"A very good job, sir. The wind may come, but we are prepared for it;there is nothing like being ready in time."
"She is in good trim for it," said the captain, "not above two-thirdsladen, and as the wind is off the land, there is nothing to worry usexcept the Falklands. I shall go outside them. Of course that willlengthen the voyage, but with this westerly wind I should not careabout being between them and the mainland. You think the same, Mr.Prendergast?"
"I do, sir; they are a scattered group, and it would not be pleasant tohave them under lee."
It had grown sensibly darker, but the line of mist had not risenhigher. Harry remarked upon this.
"I almost doubt whether it is coming after all," he said.
The captain shook his head.
"It does not spread over the sky," he said, "because it is largely dustblown off the land. After the first burst you will see that we shallhave a bright blue sky and a roaring wind, just as one gets itsometimes in an easterly gale in the Channel. We shall have it inanother five minutes, I fancy. I don't think it will be very strong, orwe should have had it here before this."
It was not long before a dull, moaning sound was heard, the brown-redfog changed its appearance, swirls of vapour seemed to dash out infront of it, and the whole swelled and heaved as if it were beingpushed forward by some tremendous pressure in its rear.
The ship's head was pointing nearly east, the canvas hung downmotionless, and there was not a breath of wind.
"Hold on all!" the captain shouted. Half a minute later the billowlyclouds swept across the vessel, and a sudden darkness overspread them.Then there was a glow of white light, a line of foam approached asfleet as a race-horse, and with a shriek the gale was upon them. Thevessel shook from stem to stern as if she had struck against a rock,and her bow was pressed down lower and lower until she seemed as if shewere going to dive head-foremost. But as she gathered way, her bowrose, and in a minute she was flying along at some eighteen knots anhour.
"She is all right now, Mr. Prendergast," the captain said. "It is wellwe stripped her so thoroughly, and that she is not heavily laden."
Four men had been placed at the wheel, and it needed all their strengthto keep her from yawing. In half an hour the sea began to get up, andthe captain laid her course south-east, which put the wind on herquarter.
"It is well we were not a degree or so farther south, Captain."
"Yes; it would have been as much as we could do to weather theFalklands; for with this small amount of sail we should have made aterrible amount of leeway. As it is, all is fair sailing."
The darkness gradually passed away, and in an hour after the gale hadstruck her the _Para_ was sailing under a bright blue sky. Although butfew points off the wind, she was lying down till her lee scuppers wereunder water. The spray was flying over her sparkling in the sun; thesailors were crouched under the weather bulwark, lashed tobelaying-pins and stanchions to prevent themselves from shifting downto leewards. Six hours later it was evident that there was some slightdiminution in the force of the wind.
"She is going about fourteen knots now," the captain said; "we can headher more to the south. We must be nearly abreast of the islands, andaccording to my reckoning forty or fifty miles to the east of them."
It was now dark, and the watch was sent below.
"To-morrow morning we shall be able to get some more sail on her," themaster said, "and I hope by the next morning the squall will be over,for we shall then have made our southing, and the wind will be right inour teeth when we turn her head west. There is no saying which way itwill come when the squall dies out. What do you think, Johnson?"
"We are pretty sure to get it hot from one quarter or another," the mansaid. "I should say most likely from the south."
"Except for the cold that would be better than west," Harry remarked.
"Yes, if it is not too strong; but it is likely to be strong. Aftersuch a gale as we have had, it seldom settles down for some time. Aslike as not there will be bad weather for the next month."
The next morning when Harry went on deck he saw that the reefs had beenshaken out of the topsails and the spanker hoisted. There was still afresh wind, but it had backed round more to the south, and there was sosharp a nip in it that he went below and put on a pea-jacket. Then hebeckoned to Bertie, who was off duty, to join him on the poop.
"That has been a smart blow, Bertie."
"Yes, but I had it worse than that the last time I came round the Horn.I think we shall be shortening sail again before long. The clouds arebanking up to the south-west. She is a good sea-boat, isn't she?"
"She has behaved uncommonly well. We shall want all our clothes beforenight, Bertie. It was May when we started, and it is nearly mid-winterdown here."
"There is one thing, we shan't have so much risk of coming acrossdrifting icebergs, most of them will be frozen up hard and fast down inthe south. They don't matter much when the weather is clear, but if itis thick one has an awful time of it. On my first voyage it was likethat, and I tell you I didn't think I was going to see England again.We had some desperately close shaves."
The wind speedily freshened, and by evening the ship was underclose-reefed canvas again. The clouds were flying fast overhead and theair was thick. Before the evening watch was set the ship was broughtround on the other tack, and was running to the east of south.
"We will lie on this course till morning, Mr. Prendergast," said thecaptain, "and then if the wind holds, I think we shall be able to makea long leg and weather the Horn."
For six days the storm raged with unabated violence. The cold wasintense, the spray breaking over the bows froze as it fell, and thecrew were engaged for hours at a time in breaking up the masses of icethus formed. Harry had volunteered to take a watch in turn with thefirst and second mates. The captain was almost continuously on deck.Twice they encountered icebergs, and once in a driving snow-stormnearly ran foul of one. Fortunately it was daylight, and the whole crewbeing on deck, they were able to put the vessel about just in time.During this time the vessel had only gained a few miles' westing. Allon board were utterly exhausted with the struggle against the bitterwind; their hands were sore and bleeding through pulling upon frozenropes, their faces inflamed, and their eyelids so swollen and sore thatthey could scarcely see. Then the wind began to abate, and more sailbeing got on the _Para_, she was able to lie her course.
