ixed

upon the foam which hissed under the very bulge of the side.

"ah, holy mother, be with us now!"

as he spoke the cog rasped along the edge of the reef, and a long

white curling sheet of wood was planed off from her side from

waist to poop by a jutting horn of the rock. at the same instant

she lay suddenly over, the sail drew full, and she plunged

seawards amid the shoutings of the seamen and the archers.

"the virgin be praised!" cried the shipman, wiping his brow.

"for this shall bell swing and candle burn when i see southampton

water once more. cheerily, my hearts! pull yarely on the

bowline!"

"by my soul! i would rather have a dry death," quoth sir oliver.

"though, mort dieu! i have eaten so many fish that it were but

justice that the fish should eat me. now i must back to the

cabin, for i have matters there which crave my attention."

"nay, sir oliver, you had best bide with us, and still show your

ensign," sir nigel answered; "for, if i understand the matter

aright, we have but turned from one danger to the other."

"good master hawtayne," cried the boatswain, rushing aft, "the

water comes in upon us apace. the waves have driven in the sail

wherewith we strove to stop the hole." as he spoke the seamen

came swarming on to the poop and the forecastle to avoid the

torrent which poured through the huge leak into the waist. high

above the roar of the wind and the clash of the sea rose the

shrill half-human cries of the horses, as they found the water

rising rapidly around them.

"stop it from without!" cried hawtayne, seizing the end of the

wet sail with which the gap had been plugged. "speedily, my

hearts, or we are gone!" swiftly they rove ropes to the corners,

and then, rushing forward to the bows, they lowered them under

the keel, and drew them tight in such a way that the sail should

cover the outer face of the gap. the force of the rush of water

was checked by this obstacle, but it still squirted plentifully

from every side of it. at the sides the horses were above the

belly, and in the centre a man from the poop could scarce touch

the deck with a seven-foot spear. the cog lay lower in the water

and the waves splashed freely over the weather bulwark.

"i fear that we can scarce bide upon this tack," cried hawtayne;

"and yet the other will drive us on the rocks."

"might we not haul down sail and wait for better times?"

suggested sir nigel.

"nay, we should drift upon the rocks. thirty years have i been

on the sea, and never yet in greater straits. yet we are in the

hands of the saints."

"of whom," cried sir oliver, "i look more particularly to st.

james of compostella, who hath already befriended us this day,

and on whose feast i hereby vow that i shall eat a second carp,

if he will but interpose a second time."

the wrack had thickened to seaward, and the coast was but a

blurred line. two vague shadows in the offing showed where the

galeasses rolled and tossed upon the great atlantic rollers,

hawtayne looked wistfully in their direction.

"if they would but lie closer we might find safety, even should

the cog founder. you will bear me out with good master witherton

of southampton that i have done all that a shipman might. it

would be well that you should doff camail and greaves, sir nigel,

for, by the black rood! it is like enough that we shall have to

swim for it."

"nay," said the little knight, "it would be scarce fitting that a

cavalier should throw off his harness for the fear of every puff

of wind and puddle of water. i would rather that my company

should gather round me here on the poop, where we might abide

together whatever god may be pleased to send. but, certes,

master hawtayne, for all that my sight is none of the best, it is

not the first time that i have seen that headland upon the left."

the seaman shaded his eyes with his hand, and gazed earnestly

through the haze and spray. suddenly he threw up his arms and

shouted aloud in his joy.

" 'tis the point of la tremblade!" he cried. "i had not thought

that we were as far as oleron. the gironde lies before us, and

once over the bar, and under shelter of the tour de cordouan, all

will be well with us. veer again, my hearts, and bring her to

try with the main course!"

the sail swung round once more, and the cog, battered and torn

and well-nigh water-logged, staggered in for this haven of

refuge. a bluff cape to the north and a long spit to the south

marked the mouth of the noble river, with a low-lying island of

silted sand in the centre, all shrouded and curtained by the

spume of the breakers. a line of broken water traced the

dangerous bar, which in clear day and balmy weather has cracked

the back of many a tall ship.

"there is a channel," said hawtayne, "which was shown to me by

the prince's own pilot. mark