Comforting Companions 361 



Usually, under such circumstances, the last birds seen 

 about a ship, nay, those that never desert her while 

 she swims, are the stormy petrels, but now these 

 Pigeons alone were left. As one by one the last 

 rent fragments of canvas flew from her yards and 

 disappeared into the deepening gloom like wisps 

 of cloud, the position of the barque became more 

 and more critical, and it was evident that unless 

 almost a miracle happened the enormous waves rolling 

 up so relentlessly from the westward must presently 

 overwhelm her, since she could not possibly under 

 bare poles keep ahead of the sea. 



But the brave, bright spirit of the skipper never 

 faltered, and with great skill and coolness he succeeded 

 in getting, by the aid of his good men, a tarpaulin 

 lashed in the mizeii rigging. Then carefully watching 

 for the smooth after a ninth wave he let the old tub 

 swing up hito the wind, which caught and brought her 

 into that comparatively easy position in a gale which 

 we know as being ' hove to.' And as she lay there, 

 sometimes almost head to the mighty waves, and 

 rising upon their crests until it appeared as if her 

 stem was about to be buried, or falling off into the 

 deep trough between two billows, until it seemed 

 as if she must be rolled bottom up, the two constant 

 attendants upon her, the pair of Cape Pigeons, hovered 

 about her as if they were guardian angels deputed to 

 preserve her from the destruction which seemed 

 imminent. 



The old vessel now made such good weather of 

 it, considering, that the skipper's wife brought up 

 their little boy, who was very anxious to see what 

 made the naughty ship tumble about so. And the 

 first thing his bright eyes lighted upon was the pair 

 of pretty birds hovering easily to windward over the 



