The dining-tables tilted till they could go
no further, and then paused to go back again; but not quickly enough,
for the glasses began to walk uphill and go over the edge in the most
extraordinary manner. On deck the night looked brilliant but rather
terrible. The full moon made it as light as day, and illuminated the
fountains of spray blown from the waves by which we were surrounded.
Without her heavy jibboom, and with her canvas well reefed down, the
'Sunbeam' rode through it all, dipping her head into the sea,
shivering from stem to stern, and then giving herself a shake,
preparatory to a fresh start, just like a playful water-bird emerging
from a prolonged dive.
At midnight a tremendous sea struck her, and for a minute you could
not see the yacht at all, as she was completely enveloped in spray and
foam. Tom said it was just like being behind the falls of Niagara,
with the water coming over you from every quarter at once. It was only
loose stuff, however, for not a green sea did she take on board the
whole night through. Our old engineer, who has been with us so long,
made up his mind that we had struck on a rock, and woke up all the
servants and told them to go on deck. I never felt anything like it
before, and the shock sent half of us out of our beds.
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