230 WINTER SUNSHINE 



of the keel, forcibly suggesting hidden rocks and 

 consequent wreck and ruin. 



Then it seems there is always some biggest wave 

 to be met with somewhere on the voyage, — a mon- 

 ster billow that engulfs disabled vessels, and some- 

 times carries away parts of the rigging of the stanch- 

 est. This big wave struck us the third day out 

 about midnight, and nearly threw us all out of our 

 berths, and careened the ship over so far that it 

 seemed to take her last pound of strength to right 

 herself up again. There was a slamming of doors, 

 a rush of crockery, and a screaming of women, heard 

 above the general din and confusion, while the steer- 

 age passengers thought their last hour had come. 

 The vessel before us encountered this giant wave 

 during a storm in mid-ocean, and was completely 

 buried beneath it ; one of the officers was swept over- 

 board, the engines suddenly stopped, and there was 

 a terrible moment during which it seemed uncertain 

 whether the vessel would shake off the sea or go to 

 the bottom. 



Besides observing the oscillations of my coat, I 

 had at times a stupid satisfaction in seeing my two 

 new London trunks belabor each other about my 

 stateroom floor. Nearly every day they would break 

 from their fastenings under my berth and start on 

 a wild race for the opposite side of the room. 

 Naturally enough, the little trunk would always 

 get the start of the big one, but the big one fol- 

 lowed close, and sometimes caught the little one in 

 a very uncomfortable manner. Once a knife and 



