Page:Dave Porter in the South Seas.djvu/251

Rh end and sending some of the water into the cabin. The former supercargo was washed off the steps and came down flat on his back, screaming with terror.

The boys were nearly as much alarmed, and, as soon as it was possible to do so, all three crawled up to where they could get a view of the deck and the sea beyond.

The outlook was truly startling. The ocean was whipped up into a milk-white foam and was dash ing and churning in all directions. One tre mendous wave was rolling straight to the south ward, and on this the bark was riding, like a monkey on a runaway race horse. The wind was whistling through the rigging, and the sky was filled with dark clouds and a strange, whitish dust.

"What is this?" called Dave to the captain, as the latter passed.

"It's a tidal wave!" yelled back Captain Marshall. "There has been another earthquake, and, most likely, some of the volcanoes in this vicinity have become active."

"Are we going down, as that sailor said?"

"Not yet. I will warn you, if there is any danger of our sinking."

"You can't put out any small boats, can you?" asked Phil.

"No, a small boat would not live a minute in such a sea as is now running."