146 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA 



From the total of our combined experiences and 

 reading we could recall no such defiance of the 

 laws of gravity, save possibly the one of biblical 

 reference which delicacy forbade mentioning. 

 Then Dr. Torre forged to the front and saved us 

 from a humiliating rout. With great solemnity he 

 told of a friend of his own who had accomplished 

 what might appear to the ignorant as a wholly 

 impossible feat. Said friend merely in a mood of 

 sportiveness was once running around a tree just 

 to see how fast he could do it. His speed in- 

 creased until he fairly seemed borne upon the 

 wings of a cyclone. So great had become his 

 momentum that he was unable to stop and danger 

 became imminent lest the strain upon heart and 

 brain would result fatally. Then it was that a 

 great inspiration came to him, and like the man on 

 the reef he also made a mighty effort. Reaching 

 forward he actually seized himself around the 

 waist and hanging on for dear life succeeded 

 finally in dragging himself down. He certainly 

 saved himself from an awful fate. 



We turned in a little apprehensive, for our 

 anchorage was exposed, the holding ground bad, 

 and the weather very threatening. 



