There was great
excitement aboard the ship. Officers hurried here and there shouting
orders to their men, and the cavalrymen rushed about in a frenzy of
haste, trying to devise means to save their horses, most of which were
stabled upon the deck. Archie looked on in breathless interest, and
was surprised to find that he wasn't at all frightened. He even found
himself making mental notes of the scene, so that he could send the
story of it all to Mr. Van Bunting when he reached Manila.
There was but little time for rushing about, and it was soon evident
that the horses would many of them be lost, because there seemed to be
absolutely no way of saving them if the waves were high enough to
break over the bulwarks. The storm soon broke in great fury, beginning
with a fierce wind which swept the waves before it. There was but
little rain, and the waves rose higher and higher with every minute,
until the heavy ship began to roll and pitch in a frightful way, so
that the soldiers began to think, some of them, that she would
certainly sink. Finally the waves were so high they dashed themselves
over the decks, and no one was allowed above the gangways. The cries
of the poor horses, as they felt themselves being washed overboard,
were frightful to hear, and many a trooper cried himself as he thought
of his horse foundering in the raging sea without. Before many minutes
all was as dark as night, though the watch pointed to but four
o'clock, and all lights were burning below deck.
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