THE ISLES OF THE INDIES 13 



mean the end of the expedition then and there. We had not 

 quite finished our task when shrieking down from the northeast 

 came the wind again, bitter cold, tearing across the waters, 

 catching up the spray and pelting it against the house. There 

 was a thundering of wet canvas, a crashing of blocks and the 

 sing of air tearing through the taut rigging. Our vessel heeled 

 to the blast, rolled far to one side and, like a startled thing, 

 leaped into the darkness. 



I caught one gUmpse of Coleman in the gleam of the riding 

 light— w^e had not yet had time to place the red and green 

 running lanterns— a glimpse of a wet figure in soaked pajamas 

 straining on the jib sheets. A second later darkness shut down 

 on everything. Then pandemonium broke loose. The mizzen 

 which we had not had a chance to reef had torn away, all ex- 

 cept one comer. It was flapping like a great flag in the gale, 

 flapping and thundering as only wet canvas can thunder in a 

 storm. We thought the mast and entire stem rigging would 

 go. Throwing the bow into the wind and heaving to as quickly 

 as we could, we leaped for the stern. One comer of the sail 

 caught Coleman a lashing blow on the shoulders and laid him 

 flat on the slippery deck. He got up and tried again. It was like 

 trying to fight a mad bull in the dark. The hard rope edging 

 beat and smashed against our bodies, battered our arms and legs. 

 We tried to get a line around the thrashing canvas, almost suc- 

 ceeded, only to lose it as an extra strong puff tore it away again. 

 Once more I caught a glimpse of Coleman. His pajamas were 

 gone, all except a portion of the trousers which were still hang- 

 ing on. Water was streaming off his nude body and his hair 

 hung limp and wet. It was bitter cold but we were perspiring 

 profusely. Our fingers were becoming raw, beaten by the gaff 

 which was still fast to the sail. Finally, by securing a line around 

 a portion we managed to tame the thing little by little, a few 

 inches at a time, until we had it firmly lashed in place. For a 



