AN UNPLEASANT ROLL. 347 



to us and begged us to stop it, for he declared that the 

 captain would go right through the crew if necessary, 

 so we then made him promise to postpone the opera- 

 tion until to-morrow, and give the crew another chance 

 by a repetition of last night's experiment. The mode of 

 flogging was to make the victim lie down on his face with 

 his hands crossed behind him, when one man sat on his 

 shoulders, and another on his legs, whilst the boatswain 

 vigorously applied a knotted rope-end to that part of the 

 body which nature has so well adapted to this purpose. 



It has been blowing a gale nearly all day from the 

 north-west, and our speed not having been more than 

 two knots an hour, the captain wanted to anchor and 

 wait for better weather, but the engineers' advice ta 

 struggle on against it prevailed with him. 



In the afternoon a sudden crash startled us all very 

 much, and nearly frightened the Greek out of his life. It 

 was caused by the rudder-chain breaking, and the result 

 was general confusion amongst the crew, in which shouts 

 of ' Stop ! stop !' as they rushed about were heard in every 

 direction. The engines having been at last stopped, the 

 steamer for a few moments became motionless, and then 

 in swinging round she caught the full force of the wind 

 and sea against her side and heaved over, first on one 

 side and then on the other, to such an extent that it was 

 only by holding on with all our might to anything within 

 reach that we escaped from being hurt by a little too- 



