Happily, the weather kept
clear; for icebergs and fog make a combination truly appalling to
the sailor, especially if there be much wind blowing.
Needless, perhaps, to say, our look-out was of the best, for all
hands had a double interest in the safety of the ship. Perhaps
it may be thought that any man would have so much regard for the
safety of his life that he would not think of sleeping on his
look-out; but I can assure my readers that, strange as it may
seem, such is not the case, I have known men who could never be
trusted not to go to sleep, no matter how great the danger. This
is so well recognized in merchant ships that nearly every officer
acts as if there was no look-out at all forward, in case his
supposed watchman should be having a surreptitious doze.
Stronger and stronger blew the brave west wind; dirtier,
gloomier, and colder grew the weather, until, reduced to two
topsails and a reefed foresail, we were scudding dead before the
gale for all we were worth. This was a novel experience for us in
the CACHALOT, and I was curious to see how she would behave. To
my mind, the supreme test of a ship's sea-kindliness is the
length of time she will scud before a gale without "pooping" a
sea, or taking such heavy water on board over her sides as to do
serious damage.
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