I thought the masts had gone over the side, and the next moment the wind had caught the sails; and the ship, which for a moment or two had been on an even keel, careened over to her gunwale with its force.  The captain, who stood upon the weather hammock-rails, holding by the main-rigging, ordered the helm a-midships, looked full at the sails, and then at the cable, which grew broad upon the weather-bow, and held the ship from nearing the shore.  At last he cried, “Cut away the cable!” A few strokes of the axes were heard, and then the cable flew out of the hawse-hole in a blaze of fire, from the violence of the friction, and disappeared under a huge wave, which struck us on the chesstree, and deluged us with water fore and aft.  But we were now on the other tack, and the ship regained her way, and we had evidently increased our distance from the land.

“My lads,” said the captain to the ship’s company, “you have behaved well, and I thank you; but I must tell you honestly that we have more difficulties to get through.  We have to weather a point of the bay on this tack.  Mr. Falcon, splice the main-brace, and call the watch.  How’s her head, quartermaster?”

“S.W. by S. Southerly, sir.”

“Very well; let her go through the water;” and the captain, beckoning to the master to follow him, went down into the cabin.  As our immediate danger was over, I went down into the berth to see if I could get anything for breakfast, where I found O’Brien and two or three more.

“By the powers, it was as nate a thing as ever I saw done,” observed O’Brien:  “the slightest mistake as to time or management, and at this moment the flatfish would have been dubbing at our ugly carcasses.  Peter, you’re not fond of flatfish, are you, my boy?  We may thank Heaven and the captain, I can tell you that, my lads; but now, where’s the chart, Robinson?  Hand me down the parallel rules and compasses, Peter; they are in the corner of the shelf.  Here we are now, a devilish sight too near this infernal point.  Who knows how her head is?”

“I do, O’Brien:  I heard the quartermaster tell the captain S.W. by S. Southerly.”

“Let me see,” continued O’Brien, “variation 2 1/4—­leeway—­rather too large an allowance of that, I’m afraid; but, however, we’ll give her 2 1/2 points; the Diomede would blush to make any more, under any circumstances.  Here—­the compass—­now, we’ll see;” and O’Brien advanced the parallel rule from the compass to the spot where the ship was placed on the chart.  “Bother! you see, it’s as much as she’ll do to weather the other point now, on this tack, and that’s what the captain meant when he told us we had more difficulty.  I could have taken my Bible oath that we were clear of everything, if the wind held.”