Suddenly the wind shifted a point, a heavy sea struck us on
the bow, and the schooner was almost laid on her beam ends, so that I
could scarcely keep my legs. At the same moment Bill lost his hold of
the belaying-pin which had served to steady him, and he slid with
stunning violence against the skylight. As he lay on the deck close
beside me, I could see that the shock had rendered him insensible; but
I did not dare to quit the tiller for an instant, as it required all my
faculties, bodily and mental, to manage the schooner. For an hour the
blast drove us along, while, owing to the sharpness of the vessel's bow
and the press of canvas, she dashed through the waves instead of
breasting over them, thereby drenching the decks with water fore and
aft. At the end of that time the squall passed away, and left us
rocking on the bosom of the agitated sea.
My first care, the instant I could quit the helm, was to raise Bill
from the deck and place him on the couch. I then ran below for the
brandy bottle, and rubbed his face and hands with it, and endeavoured
to pour a little down his throat. But my efforts, although I continued
them long and assiduously, were of no avail; as I let go the hand which
I had been chafing, it fell heavily on the deck. I laid my hand over
his heart, and sat for some time quite motionless; but there was no
flutter there--the pirate was dead!
Chapter XXVIII
Alone on the deep--Necessity the mother of invention--A
valuable book discovered--Natural phenomenon--A bright day in my
history.
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