30 I N A G U A 



Basilisk. There should be more Hke her. 



The second day passed and the third, and when the fourth 

 dawned in a gloom of gray we did not think we would live to 

 see the evening. We were so exhausted by then that we could 

 scarcely crawl from the deck to the cabin and up again. The 

 exertion of adjusting sheets was so great that we would have 

 to lie on the wet deck for fifteen or twenty minutes to re- 

 cover. The wind was blowing as hard as ever and the waves 

 were sickening to behold. Up, up they towered, great sweep- 

 ing mountains that seemed to reach to the sky. If ever we felt 

 small and unimportant, it was then. 



Once a wave broke over the top of the mast. Forty-two feet 

 five inches our mast measured, and this breaking wave topped it 

 by a yard. Coleman was down below when it struck and I was 

 crouched by the wheel box so that I would avoid the full force 

 of the wind. Suddenly, and without warning, a great wall of 

 water seemed to rise in front of the ship, rose with terrific 

 speed, forced up by some tremendous pressure beneath, rose 

 and towered above the mast. For a brief second I could see 

 pale light shining through it, could see a yellow strand of sar- 

 gassum weed high above my head. Then down it came with an 

 ear-splitting crash. With stunning force it hit the deck, threw 

 me against the aft railing and buried the ship under tons of 

 water. It seemed that we would never come up. All I can re- 

 member is choking and fighting to get to my feet as the mass 

 poured over the stern. 



A minute later a dazed Coleman cautiously opened the com- 

 panionway shde a few inches. He looked groggy and a great 

 bruise showed on the side of his face. He had been clinging to 

 his bunk trying to get a few moments' rest when suddenly 

 the wave hit. In a brief second all Ught was blotted out and 

 tons of falling liquid hit the deck. Water squirted in great 

 streams through the seams in the hatch and companionway 



