At length the line was crossed, without the observance of the time-honoured custom of receiving Father Neptune and his court. Then, as if the classic Sea God smarted under the slight, the _Olive Branch_ encountered a terrific hurricane ere she had run clear of the Doldrums. It was as if the sea and sky conspired to wreak vengeance upon the cruiser. The waves ran "mountains high," their rugged crest whipped into clouds of spindrift by the tempestuous wind, while torrential rain, accompanied by rapid and brilliant flashes of lightning, blotted out the field of vision to less than a cable's length ahead. Yet in spite of the elements the _Olive Branch_, her speed reduced to a bare thirty knots, charged through the foaming waters. Everything was battened down, and well it was, for instead of lifting to the waves the cruiser dashed straight through them. Tons of water swept her decks as far as the aftermost turret, the spray flying in solid sheets high over her charthouse. Yet she maintained a remarkably even keel, so that, had it been necessary, her guns could have been fought with comparative ease. Gerald, who, like the rest of the crew save those whose presence was necessary in the chart-house, was compelled to remain below, could not help admiring the steadiness with which the vessel behaved. "Yes, she's a marvel!" assented Alec Sinclair, the first "luff." "I don't want to alarm you, but this stability is owing to her low metacentric height. It's only her speed that gives her safety, though I would not give much for my life if she were caught broadside on by one of those waves." Fortunately these storms, though violent, are of comparatively short duration, and, running directly across the path of a hurricane, it was not long before the _Olive Branch_ emerged from the zone of the tempest. The sea still ran high, though the crests rarely broke inboard, but the hatches were able to be unbattened, and the crew to breathe the fresh air. "Sail on the starboard bow!" The officer of the watch, on hearing the hail, immediately acquainted Captain Brookes. During the voyage several craft had been sighted, but, with the exception of the _Puma_--which had previously been ordered to rendezvous at a certain latitude and longitude--they had invariably been carefully avoided. It was a matter of surprise, therefore, that the captain ordered the cruiser's head to be turned towards the strange vessel. It did not take the _Olive Branch_ long to overhaul the craft, which proved to be a German tramp steamer of about 4,000 tons. She was rolling helplessly in the trough of the waves, alternately dipping her topstrakes and showing the greater part of her bilge-keels, while from her mainmast fluttered the international signal signifying that her main shafting was broken.