BIRD ISLAND AND SAINT CROIX 189 



so accustomed in their impetuous way to dash them- 

 selves against the solid wall that guards the town, were 

 stopped by the opposing wind and flattened out, as it 

 were, before they could expend themselves. 



We started after a delay of about half an hour, 

 steaming our way past the lighters and various ships 

 lying at anchor until we were hailed, after going 

 perhaps a mile, by a large vessel, the captain of which 

 required us to give his boat a shift round so as to alter 

 her position slightly. 



Now that we were out of reach of the shelter 

 afforded by the low hills along the face of which Port 

 Elizabeth is built, we began to realise that the wind, 

 although coming from the land, was rapidly increasing 

 in force, and while the captain of the Sir Frederic 

 was making fast the cable which the big vessel had 

 thrown out, it was all he could do to understand the 

 shouted instructions of the captain of the latter. More 

 than he could do in fact, for after steaming at the end 

 of the cable for at least half an hour, during which time 

 both captains were rapidly losing their tempers, the 

 thick rope parted, and we found ourselves free. 



Meanwhile, we who were not engaged in losing our 

 tempers had leisure to observe the weather. The wind 

 had increased, and was increasing every minute, until 

 it now whistled past us, dashing salt spray into our faces 

 with a cold slap, and the sea, which was to have been so 

 calm, was being rapidly beaten up with the north-westerly 

 gale. The wind seemed literally to tear the water off 

 the choppy waves and hurl it at us, and then race past 

 laden with white scuds. 



Our captain now began to observe the weather too. 



