'The captain recommended a draught of the spirit, and so do I,' said Mr. Owen, reeling in the doorway with the motion of the ship and submitting a figure which I must have laughed at, at a time less appalling, with his short legs set apart, their shape defined by the soaked small clothes which hung like loose plaster upon them, his bushy mass of minute curls over either ear seeming to enlarge like the puff from the mouth of a cannon even as the eye rested upon them, a bottle in one hand, a wineglass in the other, and his face as pale as tallow. Mrs. Burke made no answer, and we gained our cabin. The stout door and high coaming had kept the interior fairly dry. I changed, but though I immediately felt the comfort of the dry thick clothing I cannot recollect that I shivered, that I even felt cold, so completely was all physical sensibility in this dreadful time dominated by my horror and surprise and my fright lest the ship should go down with us whilst we were locked up below. Mrs. Burke left me, to shift some of her own clothes. I stood at the cabin porthole, holding on by a stanchion that served as a bed-post, and looked out. The thick glass was so blind with the ceaseless wash of the roaring sea-flashes that I could distinguish nothing save dissolving, shifting, shapeless bulks of dim white, vague as snow-clad mountains beheld in starless gloom. But their thunder was without, close beside; and their strength was in the hurl of the ship. Indeed a vast dangerous sea had been set running almost as swiftly as the hurricane had burst upon us, and running athwart was the huge swell filled with the might of the greatest stretch of ocean in the world. In about half an hour Mrs. Burke came to me. The cabin lamp continued to burn brightly, but the fire in the stove had been extinguished by the water. She made me put on a pair of india-rubber shoes, for though the brine had drained off the cabin floor, the thick carpet squelched under the tread like wet sand which leaves a pool in your foot-print. The keen edge of this swamp of brine was in the atmosphere, raw and weedy and death cold; it was like entering a ship's hold under sea. Mrs. Burke got me to the table, and procured some stout and cold chicken, and compelled me to eat, herself setting an example. She struggled with her spirits, and sought to talk a little cheerfully. 'We are still alive, you see,' she said. 'The "Lady Emma" is one of the strongest ships ever built. I am no longer frightened. I can feel the life in a ship as a sailor does, and this vessel is jumping so briskly that I am certain she is not taking in any water. My husband, besides, is a thorough seaman. He knows exactly what to do, and what is best will be done.' Then turning her head, she exclaimed, 'Where is Mr. Owen?' She got up and opened the pantry door; afterwards knocked upon the door of his berth. The noises were so many and distracting I could not hear if he answered. She opened the door and exclaimed: