The captain, who stood upon the
weather-hammock rails, holding by the main-rigging, ordered the helm
amidships, 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 hawsehole in a blaze of fire,
from the violence of the friction, and disappeared under a huge wave,
which struck us on the chess-tree, 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,
quarter-master?"
"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 carcases.
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