They sprang to their feet bewildered; and after a short, but desperate scuffle, we tore him from the helm.

In wrestling with him, the wheel--left for a moment unguarded--flew to leeward, thus, fortunately, bringing the ship's head to the wind, and so retarding her progress.
Previous to this, she had been kept three or four points free, so as to close with the breakers.

Her headway now shortened, I steadied the helm, keeping the sails just lifting, while we glided obliquely toward the land.

To have run off before the wind--an easy thing--would have been almost instant destruction, owing to a curve of the reef in that direction.

At this time, the Dane and the steward were still struggling with the furious Mowree, and the others were running about irresolute and shouting.
But darting forward the instant I had the helm, the old cook thundered on the forecastle with a handspike, "Breakers! breakers close aboard!--'bout ship! 'bout ship!" Up came the sailors, staring about them in stupid horror.
"Haul back the head-yards!" "Let go the lee fore-brace!" "Beady about! about!" were now shouted on all sides; while distracted by a thousand orders, they ran hither and thither, fairly panic-stricken.
It seemed all over with us; and I was just upon the point of throwing the ship full into the wind (a step, which, saving us for the instant, would have sealed our fate in the end), when a sharp cry shot by my ear like the flight of an arrow.
It was Salem: "All ready for'ard; hard down!" Round and round went the spokes--the Julia, with her short keel, spinning to windward like a top.