Page:Last Cruise of the Spitfire.djvu/98

90 would cause quite a noise. What was I to do? It did not become necessary for me to decide the question. The elements did it for me.

For at that moment the schooner gave a fearful lurch, first to the weather side and then over, and an instant later there was a tremendous crash on the deck.

For a moment the three men stood as if paralyzed, then all of them made a bolt for the companionway.

"Something's gone by the board!" I heard the captain exclaim, and then all of them passed out of hearing.

As soon as they were gone I sprang to my feet, and passing out of the pantry, made my way after them to the deck. None of the men saw me, and I lost no time in going forward.

The storm was now upon us, and, as Tony Dibble had reported, it was a heavy one. The sky was one mass of black, angry clouds, and the wind blew a perfect gale.

The schooner pitched and tossed to such a degree that I had great difficulty in reaching the forward deck, where I presently saw my sailor friend hard at work clearing away the remains of the boom of the mainmast, which had swung around and snapped off.