Louis Belgrave had the wheel from four bells, or two o'clock; and he found he had his hands full, and that it required no little of his strength to manage it. He had seen several heavier gales than the present, when the Guardian-Mother knocked about quite as much as the Maud in the more tremendous seas of the Atlantic. Felipe had sailed in the Maud more than any other person on board; but he appeared to be the only one who was at all alarmed at the situation, though he had made the voyage from Mogadore to Funchal and back, and at the time when he took his final leave of the Pacha; but he had never been at sea in her in a gale. At about every roll of the little steamer the sea broke over the bulwarks and swept over the bow and stern where there was no deck-house to obstruct its passage. Every door, window, or other opening had been closed and securely fastened, and thus far no water had found its way into the inside of the boat. As long as the engine did not break down Captain Scott had no fears for the safety of the Maud, uncomfortable as she was to those on board in such a gale. The little steamer had two masts, and she was rigged as a schooner; but they appeared to be more for ornament than for use. A mainsail, foresail, and jib were stowed away in the forecastle; but it was doubtful if they had ever been bent on. The rigging and spars certainly added to the nautical effect of the craft; and they afforded an opportunity for the display of flags, for the gaffs on each mast were secured in place aloft by the vangs. The American flag had been set at the main peak during the voyage to Tangier; though, as anything but a tender of the ship, she was not legally entitled to use it. "Well, Louis, what do you think of this?" said Captain Scott, who had watched his opportunity when the starboard side of the steamer was under water to open the port door of the pilot-house wide enough to enable him to enter. "I think it is a tolerably fresh breeze," replied the young millionaire, as he heaved the wheel over to meet a big billow. "It makes a lively time in a steamer no larger than the Maud." "It is a regular muzzler," added the captain. "But I have been out in a gale as heavy as this one in the Seahound; and she was not as big as the Maud." "It is not comfortable; and I suppose that is about the worst that can be said of it." "She is all right as long as the engine holds its own; and both Felipe and Don say there is no danger of its giving out," said the captain. "I suppose it is all right; but I wish we had another string to our bow." "What other string could we have to our bow?" asked Louis, giving his companion an inquiring glance. "The sails; and I wish I had thought to bend them on before we left Gib, or this forenoon, when we had nothing under the canopy to do but bite our finger-nails." "I dare say it would be well to have them ready for use as a last resort," suggested Louis.