208 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLO A RUBBER 



St. Elmo's fire that appeared at the masthead, nothing happened. The 

 crew was much exercised about these strange balls of light it was 

 Malo with a capital M to all of them. No such superstition affected 

 our party, however, and when the morning came we laughed away their 

 fears, and as the day advanced they grew ashamed of the terrors of the 

 night. By noon the schooner was off Cebaco, which ends in a jagged 

 reef where rough water is to be found. As the wind was light and the 

 current strong, the Almirante was carried quite close to this danger 

 point, although both jibs and the fore and mainsail were drawing full, 

 the latter two being wing and wing. Just as we passed the reef, with no 

 warning at all, came a squall that was as near as possible to ending the 

 cruise in disaster. The Almirante heeled over until her rail was under, 

 and plunged forward like a race horse. El Capitan, at the tiller ropes, 

 screeched shrill orders, and the crew worked like demons to get the 

 flying jib and the foresail down. In the face of that wind it was no mean 

 job, as the sail was as rigid as iron, and it was not until a sailor climbed 

 the mast and pulled the hoops down, a few inches at a time, that it was 

 lowered. Even then it could not be tied up, but bellied far out into the 

 water. The same difficulty was experienced in reefing the mainsail. But 

 finally, after much labor, the schooner was in hand and driving out to 

 sea under jib and reefed mainsail. As the squall had now turned into 

 a hurricane that drove the warm spray from the wave tops into one's 

 face like hail, it looked as if we were likely to be driven far out of our 

 course. El Capitan therefore decided to try to come about and run 

 between Cebaco and Gubernador for shelter. Three times he tried and 

 each time missed. Then he prepared to jibe. The Americanos, however, 

 would not have it, urging that either the rigging would part or the masts 

 be carried away by such a measure, and he finally gave it up. Then he 

 tried to come about again, and by lowering the jib for a moment, and 

 raising it again, was successful ; the old tub came about and headed for 

 the haven. Then followed three hours of as rough sailing as I ever 

 expect to see. There was no particular danger, if everything held, but 

 the seas that pounded the side and often came aboard were big and 

 angry, and the wind fairly shrieked. Nothing happened except the part- 

 ing of a stay, and the partial collapse of the cook's galley, and by night- 

 fall anchor was dropped close under the shelter of Gubernador, in still 

 water, and the weary voyagers went to sleep to the roaring of the breakers 

 on the other side of the island. 



Going ashore in the morning, we found that the island was owned 

 by our friend, Don Pablo, and it was here that his pearl fishing schooners 



