Fortunately, it was noon and broad daylight, and the man at the wheel,
who had his eyes aloft, soon saw my difficulty, and after numberless
signs and gestures, got some one to haul the necessary ropes taught.
During this interval I took a look below. Everything was in
confusion on deck; the little vessel was tearing through the water
if she were mad, the seas flying over her, and the masts leaning
over at an angle of forty-five degrees from the vertical. At the other
royal-mast-head was S---, working away at the sail, which was
blowing from him as fast as he could gather it in. The
top-gallant-sail below me was soon clewed up, which relieved the mast,
and in a short time I got my sail furled, and went below; but I lost
overboard a new tarpaulin hat, which troubled me more than anything
else. We worked for about half an hour with might and main; and in
an hour from the time the squall struck us, from having all our flying
kites abroad, we came down to double-reefed top-sails and the
storm-sails.
The wind had hauled ahead during the squall, and we were standing
directly in for the point. So, as soon as we had got all snug, we wore
round and stood off again, and had the pleasant prospect of beating up
to Monterey, a distance of an hundred miles, against a violent head
wind.
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