He  stood  on  the  roundhouse  with  the  Captain,
myself,  and  the  man  at  the  helm,  giving  his  directions


Beyond  the  Seas.  313

very  quietly,  after  the  manner  of  pilots,  with  a  motion
of  his  hand  this  way  and  that.  Presently  he  pointed
to  the  fort  now  three  miles  away  :  it  was  already
falling  dark,  the  blackness  of  the  sky  somewhat
advancing  the  time  of  dusk,  the  wind  being  gusty  at
times,  and  then  calm  again,  presaging  with  the  black-
ness overhead  a  thunderstorm.  At  our  pilot's  direction
we  dropped  our  anchor  opposite  the  fort,  and  at  the
same  moment  the  clouds  were  cloven  asunder  with  a
lightning  flash.  It  thundered  very  quickly  upon  the
flash,  and  the  rain  began  to  come  down  thick  and
steady.  It  was  so  dark  already,  what  with  storm  and
rain  and  nightfall,  that  we  could  not  see  the  shore  on
either  side.  Thought  I,  this  could  not  happen  better.
The  little  boats  about  us  now  began  to  run  for  shore,
fearing  the  gusts  of  wind,  and  I  saw  there  was  little
danger  of  any  officers  boarding  us  while  this  weather
lasted.
