the boys went reluctantly into their berths, but not to sleep.
sick and frightened, they could only listen anxiously to the beating of the waves against the vessel, and the hurried movements of the two men on deck, as, tossed by the winds and the sea, the una rolled heavily to and fro.
the moments seemed hours, and the hours seemed ages.
never in their lives had they been so terrified. several times the water rushed down into the cabin, as the waves broke over the deck; and captain dare looked down upon them, long enough to ask if they were drowned out.
"hear the thunder!" exclaimed ralph, as the heavy roll and crash sounded overhead, and the cabin was lighted almost continually with flashes of lurid light.
ben made no reply, but buried his head under the blanket.
"it's queer i don't feel so scared as i did," said ralph soberly. "i feel something as captain dare does--that after all we are in god's hand. hear that peal! it seemed to roll right over the deck."
ben made no answer, but cowered still closer under the blanket.
the rain now descended in perfect sheets upon the deck; and although the cabin door was closed, the water poured down through the cracks, and came in around the small windows above the berths, adding to the discomfort of the boys, who could not escape the drenching there without stepping into the water with which the cabin floor was covered.
the rain fell as if another flood had commenced; and the wind had no mercy on the little vessel--breaking her yards and snapping her topmasts; and unreefing with goblin fingers the topsails, it whipped them to tatters.
at length the thunder ceased to mutter, and after midnight the rain fell no more; but the wind continued to blow, and the little vessel to run before it.
it was sunrise when the captain opened the cabin door and looked down.
"well, boys, get up and give thanks! the little vessel has weathered the toughest kind of a gale. we are all safe now."
"is the danger really over?" asked the boys eagerly, as they sprang from the berth upon the wet floor.
"the worst is over, thank god! it was a tough storm and a stiff blow, but the una rode it out," he said proudly. "one mast got a bad wrench, and all the canvas that could get loose got ripped into rags; but that's nothin' to what it might have been, considerin' how the wind roared and howled over the sea. folks blame the sea for these accidents; but bless you, the sea ain't to blame! how can it help rearing up, with a gale like that throwing it on its pitchfork? i don't like to see things abused, and i stick up for the sea; it behaves well enough as long as the wind lets it."
"where are we?" asked the boys, as they reached the deck and looked curiously around. "there's no land at all in sight!"
"no; we got blown well out to sea. it's lucky we didn't try to make a port last night: we'd have been caught among some o' them islands if we had, and knocked to pieces on the rocks."
"that's so," added marcus, with a wise shake of the head.
"you two fellows did first-rate last night!"
"you are chaffing, captain," said ralph, looking red.
"no, honestly. i expected i'd have trouble with you when that storm came; but i'll say that for you--you did first-rate!"
"we were too scared to do any other way," confessed ben with a laugh.
"scared or not, some folks will make a rumpus just when they ought to keep stillest.--now, marcus, give us a good breakfast, and then we'll shake out our canvas and see where our damages are. we must be working back, for i don't propose to let this wind drive us off shore any further than i can help.--one time last night, along the first of the blow, we came very near whaleback, boys; but a miss is as good as a mile when the danger is over."
"whaleback! oh, i wish we were there now! no, i don't either!" exclaimed ralph.
"i wish you was there, anyhow," said the captain gruffly. "that's where you belong. i believe the master there would take you back and forgive you. you've got a good dose of punishment, if ever a couple of young liars had."
"you don't know how mr. bernard feels about lying. he will never want the other boys to be with us again,--never!" said ralph.
"i don't know about that," and captain dare shook his head wisely. "i know there isn't nobody hates a lie worse nor me; but it ain't for me to hold back when a fellow is sorry for it, and quits the whole business of lying."
"and i mean to do that!" interposed ralph with emphasis; "but mr. bernard doesn't know it."
"no, and that's just what i was wishing you on whaleback for, so you could tell him."
"he wouldn't believe us!" exclaimed ben. "we couldn't expect him to, after we lied to him as we did. no, i don't want to see him. a storm at sea is bad enough; but i believe i'd rather go through another than go ashore and face him."
"i'd like to have him know how i feel about it," said ralph. "i mean to write him a letter after i get back to father's. of course we never can be taken back into school."
"breakfast!" shouted marcus, flourishing the towel with which he had been polishing the tin plates.
"i believe the fright last night took away my seasickness," said ralph, as he helped himself to the fish marcus had broiled. "the fright did it, or else it died a natural death, for i had it long enough. i feel more like myself than i have since i came on board."
"so do i," said ben, following ralph's example.
"when is this voyage going to end, captain?"
"oh, when i get my load, i told ye before. it will take some time for this sea to go down enough to give us another chance at the fish; but with fair luck i reckon a week more will fill us."
the boys groaned.
"what! don't you like it? you seem so fresh after the storm, i concluded you was makin' up your mind to follow my profession. then you don't mean to take to the business as a steady thing?" captain dare asked, with a twinkle in the funny light-gray eyes overshadowed with bushy brows.
"no," answered the boys laughing. "dry land for us."
after breakfast, the two men unreefed the sails, and began to repair damages. the small boat that had been stowed on deck during the storm was again launched and towed behind.
the broken topmasts were useless; but the most serious injury was to the foremast, which was sprung out of position.
this they braced as well as possible, and setting all available canvas, they began the process of tacking, to regain their former-position.
as the wind abated, they began to troll for fish; and in spite of the rough sea, the boys felt well enough to help with the lines.
"if you stay aboard long enough, i'll make good fishermen of you yet," said the captain with a chuckle, as he noticed the colour in their cheeks and the sparkle in their eyes when they surveyed the mass of fish they had helped to catch.
"now, just turn to and help to dress 'em," said marcus.
the boys respectfully declined to join in this work, and went to sit in the bow as far as possible away from the board on which the fish were being prepared for drying.
they had been so busy fishing, the time had passed very quickly, and, tired and sleepy, they soon went to bed, thankful that the storm was over and their seasickness gone.
the morning dawned bright and clear, and when they went on deck at sunrise, captain dare pointed to the islands toward which they were once more sailing.
"home again! home again, from a foreign shore!" sang ben; and ralph was at ease enough now to join in the song.
"that sounds good," said the captain approvingly. "give us another. sing us a hymn tune."
after a little consulting together the two boys sang the chant, "the lord is my shepherd." when they ceased, the captain said,--
"give me that again; twice more, and then i'll let you off. i never heard anything so good as that!"
the boys complied, and wondered, as they sang it, why there seemed so much more in the chant than they had ever noticed before in singing it at school.
"i never noticed that chant much," said ralph: "it means a lot more than it used to. i wonder why?"
"bless your heart, boy! you've got more feelin' in your soul now, and more thoughts in your head. i tell you that's a psalm that has to grow on you. it don't mean nothin' particular to folks that haven't had trouble, but to them that have, it keeps growin' and growin', until they see more and more in it every time they think of it. i say that psalm over and over to myself when i'm sittin' here o' nights with my hand on the helm, but i never knew it could be sung. i used to sing once; i wonder if i could learn that. i'd give 'most anything to do it."
"why, of course you can," exclaimed ralph. "see here, it is just as easy;" and he hummed the first line. "strike right in and sing it with us."
the two boys sang the chant again and again, until the captain had mastered it; and during the day he hummed it as he worked, resolving in his joy over his success that he would go out of his way to do those lads a favour, but it should be a surprise, and he would not tell marcus even of his intention.
it proved a fine day for fishing. school after school of mackerel came by, and the boys worked industriously, helping the fishermen to gather their harvest. at night, tired and sleepy after their unusual labours, they went below early, and the captain, with a wink and crook of his finger at marcus, beckoned him to his side.
"that's whaleback yonder."
"yes, i know it is; what of it?"
"there's a good breeze."
"yes."
"i'm going to make for that island, and anchor off the south end, where the beach is."
"you are?" asked marcus, puzzled to know what this could be for.
"in the mornin' when our two chaps wake up they'll be so near their mates it won't be my fault if that affair doesn't get settled," and the captain rubbed his hands and laughed softly.
"oh, i see! all right. just as you say."
so while ralph and ben slept soundly in the cabin of the una, the little vessel sailed on and on in the moonlight, and before midnight dropped anchor just off the south end of whaleback. the weather-beaten face of the old captain broadened with mirth as he looked across at the cluster of tents showing white in the moonlight, and thought of the commotion he would create in the morning. as he crept down into the cabin to indulge in a nap, he laughed aloud over his manoeuvre; but the two boys were too soundly asleep to be easily disturbed.
