Beadle's Dime Novels No. 87: On the Deep — page 14: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ea ON THE DEEP. yard,” the erat at len atie said to his.mate. “I think you had best send ’em down.” | Block gave the required sim and such of the men as were not engaged in lashing the boats, battening down the hatches, etc., etc., darted aloft to obey. Justas the top yard and mast were lowered to the deck, the foremost cloud of the storm passed over the vessel. The rigging hummed like ua top; a scarcely perceptible shiver seemed to run through every timber; the three sails filled with a noise like the report. of a musket. “ Now, then—steady as you are—there—at—the—wheel !” cried Capstan, in a voice something like the prolonged herwi of a wolf. , Whiz-z-z-z !|—bur-r-r-r !——hoo-00-00 !—whish-sh-sh !—came the storm, bursting upon the bark with a perfect avalanche of driving rain, and with hurricane gusts that drove Grace into the companionway, down which she retreated with all pos- sible haste. The-stout vessel fell upon her bean: ends; her ‘swaying masts creaked complainingly; her timbers groaned as though about to part; torrents of water came pouring over her lee bulwarks ;\she was hurled, rather than driven, through a vortex of boiling, hissing waves, that threw clouds of spray even to her topsail yards. ‘ The maintopsail and the foresail broke loose from their sheets, and. after flapping wildly about for a moment, were torn to shreds. The foretopmast stays and weather foretopmast shrouds, parting almost simultaneously, the mast went over the ‘side with a loud crash. The main- topmast followed, and immediately afterward down came the — *mizzen. Men with axes darted forward and ‘aft to clear the wreck, but the bark rolled and plunged so yiolently, that a long time emrpied before this task was ‘accom- plished. Soon the fury of the tempest ocr to abate; the wind, hauling ‘round to the northeast, however, still. bien a eases, gale, which the captain predicted would last for several days. As he could neither return to the islands nor repair damages during the present state of the weather, he was obliged to set a single-reefed mainsail, and: put his vessel before the wind, or on a-southwest course. This he pursued for three days, at the end of which time the gale fell away to a light breeze ; comicboooks.com