"Well!" exclaimed Captain Miles presently, "of all the sudden changes of wind I ever encountered on the ocean, this beats everything! It has literally jumped round the compass." "I fancy it is the tail-end of the hurricane," said Mr Marline. "It is a very lucky thing we wore ship in time." "Lucky, you call it?" rejoined Captain Miles gravely, eyeing the foremast anxiously the while, fearful of anything being carried away, when we would be left to the mercy of the cruel waves. "Man alive, it is only through the mercy of Providence that we are not now sunk fathoms deep below the sea!" CHAPTER THIRTEEN. ON OUR BEAM-ENDS. Up to now, although we had experienced bad weather for two days and the special gale before which we were driving had lasted some eighteen hours at a stretch, no serious accident had happened on board, the _Josephine_ being as sound and staunch in every way as when she left port, with the exception of losing her mainsail and having her rigging, perhaps, rather tautly stretched. The galley fire had been put out once or twice by the heavy seas which we took in over the bows, but Cuffee, with the cordial co-operation of his brother darkey, Jake, was easily able to light this again; and the men, having their rations regularly and little or no work to do--save taking their trick at the wheel, when four would have to go on duty together at once--had nothing to grumble at. Everything, indeed, proceeded comfortably enough while the ship was scudding first one way and then the other--"doing diagonals," as it were, across her latitudes! Down below in the cabin all had been what sailor's term "a hurrah's nest" ever since the gale began, the loose water knocking about the decks having washed all sorts of odds and ends together and kept us always wet; while the rolling of the vessel from side to side, like a pendulum, as she ran before the wind had smashed most of the crockery- ware and glasses in the steward's pantry, besides causing the benches round the saloon table and the chairs to fetch away from their lashings. For days past, our meals had resembled amateur picnics more than anything else--whenever we were able to get them, that is, the old regularity of breakfast and lunch and dinner being completely abolished; for the captain and Mr Marline and myself had to take odd snacks and stray bites at various hours whenever opportunity and appetite allowed their indulgence. Harry, the steward, was at his wit's end to get things in proper keeping. No sooner had he cleared up one batch of breakages and made matters ship-shape than over would sway the _Josephine_ hard to port; when, bang would go something else, undoing in one instant the work of hours of labour in putting the place below in order.