I daresay it will save some trouble bye-and-by." "Very well, I will," said the other; and, calling the starboard watch, who were idling about and having a quiet caulk in the waist, he soon made them set about reducing the _Josephine's_ canvas--there being no necessity yet for summoning "all hands," as there was not a breath of air stirring, while the sea had hushed its monotonous roll, calming down to the quiet of a mill-pond.
Previously to this, the ship had been under all plain sail, so as to be ready for the wind when it chose to visit us again; but, in a very short time, under Jackson's supervision and sharp, rapid orders, the courses were clewed up, the flying-jib hauled down, the topgallant-sails furled, and the spanker brailed up.

In this half-dressed rig the vessel was now prepared to meet any sudden squall; while, should a favourable breeze come, sail could readily be added on--a much easier job to accomplish than that of taking in canvas in a gale! In the interim, although no further thunder was heard, and we only saw the one vivid flash of forked lightning that had accompanied the fearful peal which made me vacate my seat by the taffrail, the heavens grew blacker and blacker, the darkness settling down on the ship so that one could hardly see one's hand even if held close to the face; but, after a bit, a meteor-like globe of electric light danced about the spars and rigging, making the faces of all those aft look ghastly with its pale blue glare.

They seemed just as if they were dead.
A second or two later, some heavy warning drops of rain, as big as saucers, fell on the deck, with a dull splashing noise; and while we were all waiting with some anxiety for what was to be the outcome of all this atmospheric disturbance, Captain Miles ascended the poop-ladder, his face being distinctly illumined by the meteor, which was apparently at that moment hovering about the slings of the main-yard.
The captain had been roused out by the sound of the men's feet busily trampling about the decks and the hauling of the ropes, as the main topgallant halliards and sheets were cast-off and the clew-lines and bunt-lines manned during the operation of taking in sail, so he came up expecting to find that the long-wished-for breeze had overhauled us; but he only saw, instead, the vessel as motionless on the water as when he went below, albeit now almost denuded of her canvas.
After glancing round the ship, whose every outline was brought out in relief by the meteoric light, he warmly praised Jackson for his precaution in reducing sail.
"You've done quite right," he said, "only you haven't quite gone far enough, my boy.

I think we'd better have the courses furled and the topsails reefed.

We're in hurricane latitudes and this is the very month for them.