Fast eBooks

The waves have driven in the sail
wherewith we strove to stop the hole." As he spoke the seamen
came swarming on to the poop and the forecastle to avoid the
torrent which poured through the huge leak into the waist. High
above the roar of the wind and the clash of the sea rose the
shrill half-human cries of the horses, as they found the water
rising rapidly around them.
"Stop it from without!" cried Hawtayne, seizing the end of the
wet sail with which the gap had been plugged. "Speedily, my
hearts, or we are gone!" Swiftly they rove ropes to the corners,
and then, rushing forward to the bows, they lowered them under
the keel, and drew them tight in such a way that the sail should
cover the outer face of the gap. The force of the rush of water
was checked by this obstacle, but it still squirted plentifully
from every side of it. At the sides the horses were above the
belly, and in the centre a man from the poop could scarce touch
the deck with a seven-foot spear. The cog lay lower in the water
and the waves splashed freely over the weather bulwark.


Pages:
325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349