He was fully determined to repay Byrne in so far as he
could the great debt he owed him. All thoughts of revenge for
the mucker's former assault upon him were dropped, and he
now looked upon the man as a true friend and ally.
For three days the Halfmoon plunged helplessly upon the
storm-wracked surface of the mad sea. No soul aboard her
entertained more than the faintest glimmer of a hope that the
ship would ride out the storm; but during the third night the
wind died down, and by morning the sea had fallen sufficiently
to make it safe for the men of the Halfmoon to venture
upon deck.
There they found the brigantine clean-swept from stem to
stern. To the north of them was land at a league or two,
perhaps. Had the storm continued during the night they
would have been dashed upon the coast. God-fearing men
would have given thanks for their miraculous rescue; but not
so these. Instead, the fear of death removed, they assumed
their former bravado.
Skipper Simms boasted of the seamanship that had saved
the Halfmoon--his own seamanship of course. Ward was
cursing the luck that had disabled the ship at so crucial a
period of her adventure, and revolving in his evil mind various
possible schemes for turning the misfortune to his own advantage.
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