At four bells I relieved the man at the wheel .sx With the foresail off her the ship was certainly going along a little easier , but the weather was , if possible , getting worse ; squall succeeded squall in rapid succession ; the clouds seemed to be denser ; the darkness was more overwhelming and broken only by an occasional phosphorescent gleam on the foaming crest of an approaching wave .sx Because of the blinding snow which accompanied the squalls I could rarely see the nearest of the sails which were set - the mizzen lower topsail - and had to judge how close the vessel was to the wind by the feel of it .sx She was carrying the helm about half down , and I seldom had to move the wheel ; indeed , I could almost have gone to sleep at it but for the fact that occasionally a sea would strike the rudder in such a way as to start the wheel spinning so that it nearly tore the arms out of me , and once or twice it almost flung me over the top of it .sx It was a dreary monotonous business , and I fervently looked forward to the end of the watch as , with the collar of my oilskin coat pulled well up and my sou'-wester well down , I leant against the north-west gale , my head half-turned away from it , watching for the arm-jarring jolts of the wheel and noting the passing of the time by the too infrequent striking of the bell .sx A tarpaulin had been lashed in the weather jigger rigging , and under it the captain and the second mate were sheltering .sx At intervals the latter would stagger aft to the lighted binnacle to see how the ship was heading , otherwise I was left to my own devices .sx About a quarter past three the wind lulled a little , the snow ceased , and both of them came along to the binnacle .sx The captain seemed to be restless and anxious ; he looked around the horizon , then went below into the cabin .sx When he returned to the poop he had another look at the compass card in the binnacle , another long stare at the horizon , particularly to windward and right ahead , as if he were trying to read something there ; then he spoke to the second mate .sx " I don't like the look of it , mister , " he said .sx " We ought to be on the other tack , you know .sx We will wear her round at eight bells .sx " My heart sunk .sx That meant a good slice off our watch below ; in fact , it meant an extra hour at the wheel for me .sx The wind lulled still more , and after another prolonged stare ahead the old man again sought the cabin .sx " I like the look of it less than ever , mister , " he said when he returned .sx " The glass has stopped falling ; it looks like a shift of wind , and we're on the on the wrong tack for it .sx The sooner it's eight bells the better .sx " His remarks call for a little explanation .sx The long-drawn-out gales of the southern hemisphere , such as the one we were then experiencing , usually commence with the wind from the north , backing to the north-west .sx It remains in that direction for some time , gradually increasing in strength , with a falling barometer and rain or snow .sx Eventually the barometer ceases to fall , then shortly afterwards , with little other warning except a clearing of the weather , the wind flies into the south-west and for a time blows harder than ever , the shift of wind being followed by a rapid rise of the glass .sx It follows , therefore , that to avoid being caught aback , the vessel just before the shift of wind should be on the port tack , so that the wind will shift aft .sx We were on the starboard tack , so that the shift would bring the wind from almost dead ahead .sx When a square-rigged vessel is caught aback - that is , with the wind blowing on the wrong side of her sails - she is in about as bad a predicament as she could well be ; if she is carrying a press of canvas she will probably be dismasted , while even under short canvas as we were at the time , with the heavy sea that was running anything might happen .sx For a few moments the old man fidgeted about , then his anxiety seemed to get the better of his consideration for the slumbering watch below .sx " Strike one bell now , mister , and call the watch , " he ordered .sx The bell was struck ; the second mate left the poop to gather together the men of his watch and to make preparations for the operation of wearing ship .sx Then suddenly the weight seemed to go out of the wind altogether , and the ship came almost on an even keel ; the comparative silence was startling .sx Heavy rain commenced to fall .sx As if petrified the captain stared out on the lee bow , where , following his gaze , I could see a clearing low down in the sky .sx He quickly pulled himself together .sx " Hard up the helm , " he shouted at me .sx Then he ran forward to the break of the poop , and as I spun the wheel round I could hear him roaring - .sx " Square the cro'jack yard .sx All hands on deck .sx " By this time it was almost a dead calm , the sails were slatting against the masts and the ship had not sufficient head-way on her to answer the helm .sx She lay almost stopped and helpless , the waves breaking over her , or flinging her about , just as they wished .sx The clearing in the sky to the south-west grew and spread ; its upper part seemed to be fringed with black clouds , which it was chasing before it , and from which large jagged masses tore themselves and seemed to come hurtling straight at the ship .sx Below on the main deck I could hear ropes running through sheaves and the shouts of the watch on deck , who were struggling with the crossjack yard ; then those sounds were abruptly drowned as with a roar the wind struck the vessel two points on the port bow .sx It was a wild moment ; sea and sky seemed to be mixed in one awful smother .sx The ship gathered sternway , which increased rapidly , and presently everything - sky , sea and ship - seemed to be rushing straight at me where I stood right aft ; it was a weird and terrifying spectacle .sx The captain , who had come aft again , silently helped me to put the wheel amidships - had we put it over one way or the other it would have meant a smashed rudder - then he stood beside me , hanging on to the wheel as if he was paralysed .sx The ship was now pitching heavily .sx A heavier gust than ever crashed at us from almost dead ahead ; the clouds had passed away and it came from a clear sky .sx The great vessel's bow rising from a plunge appeared to hang for a moment , then instead of dipping down again it seemed to rise in the air .sx Higher and higher it rose .sx I looked fearfully behind me ; the water was bubbling up over the half-round on to the poop and was nearly up to the wheel grating .sx Absolutely shaken and unnerved the old man let go the wheel , made a gesture of despair , and clutched with both hands at the sou'-wester on his head ; then he turned to me , and in a voice that I could hardly recognise because of the tremble that was in it , he shouted - .sx " My God !sx she's foundering !sx She's going down by the stern !sx " Although my instinct was to get forward away from that icy black water which was now almost up to my feet , I hung on to the wheel in a helpless agony of mind .sx My first thought was for my shipmates struggling down there on the main deck ; but what could I do ?sx What good would a warning be to them ?sx Certainly the old man and myself would be the first to be engulfed , but in less than five minutes there would be no place of safety on board , not even the main truck ; everything would have disappeared beneath the waves .sx Bang !sx Bang !sx Above the din and the roar of the wind there came two reports exactly like those produced by the firing of a section of field-guns .sx The great vessel's bow wavered and began to settle down again ; very slowly at first , then with a violent sickening plunge into the trough of the head sea .sx We peered anxiously forward , wondering what had happened and what her next move would be ; then we became aware of a small figure crawling along the poop toward us and clinging on to the skylight bars as it came .sx " Fore and main topsails blown away , sir , " the owner of it shouted , his shrill voice carrying well through the gale .sx I recognised the voice as Tommy's .sx Even as he had screamed out his information , I had become aware that there was something wanting aloft ; where the black strips of the fore and main lower topsails had been there was now a strange emptiness .sx The old man straightened himself up and the old ring of confidence had returned to his voice when he answered Tommy with the conventional - .sx " All right .sx " Then he turned to me .sx " Thank God for that , " he shouted .sx Before long the vessel's bow began to swing rapidly to star-board ; the fore topmast stay-sail of stout No .sx 0 storm canvas had stood , and was paying her head off the right way .sx The crowd down on the main deck by almost super-human efforts had got the yards on the mizzen-mast round , and the mizzen lower topsail filling , the ship gathered headway again and began to fly through the water .sx I had crossed to the other side of the wheel and the old man had helped me to put the helm hard down , but for a time the ship was unmanageable and refused to look at her rudder .sx Although the wind had shifted , the sea was still running from the old direction and was nearly dead ahead , so that the ship was pitching her bows clean under and was threatening to bury herself .sx The seas were sweeping the main deck fore and aft .sx Eventually the rudder had its effect ; the ship came up to the wind again and presently lay hove to on the port tack and comparatively safe .sx Although the snow had ceased and it was now clear , it was colder than ever , for the wind was blowing straight up from the Antarctic .sx The captain went below and I was left alone on the poop hanging on to the jolting wheel .sx I had little hope of relief for some time ; the yards on the fore and main masts had yet to be hauled round , although there were no sails set on them , and I knew that things on the main deck would be in a frightful state of chaos and that the watch would not be ordered below until everything had been cleared up .sx Braces would be out through the freeing ports , jammed under the spare spars , or entwined round the bulwark stanchions , and all hands would be diving for them in the icy water , for all the gear would have to be stopped up in the rigging ready so that it could be flung on the deck clear for running in case of an emergency .sx The time wore on slowly .sx Dawn started to creep in , and as it grew brighter objects aloft began to shape themselves out of the gloom ; first the mizzen lower topsail , a narrow strip of canvas , sodden and black , straining furiously at the buckling yard to which it was bent ; then I made out the main and fore masts with a host of small , ragged , fluttering pennons where the fore and main lower topsails had been .sx Farther forward the fore top-mast staysail stood out nobly , but , for all that , the tall clipper looked very bare , draggled and forelorn , leaning over with no canvas set on three out of her four lofty masts .sx