16 The Wine-Dark Sea - Libro della tutto

Patrick O'Brian The Wine-Dark Sea
ever there was one, had to sit down, wedging
himself firmly on a broad locker; and at the
setting of the watch, after their traditional
toasted cheese had been eaten, he went on
deck to take in the courses and lie to under a
close-reefed main topsail. He had, at least by
dead-reckoning, reached something like the
point he had been steering for; the inevitable
leeway should do the rest by dawn; and he
hoped that now the ship's motion would be
eased.
'Is it very disagreeable upstairs?' asked
Stephen when he returned. 'I hear thunderous
rain on the skylight.'
'It is not so much very disagreeable as very
strange,' said Jack. 'As black as can be, of
course – never the smell of a star – and wet;
and there are strong cross-seas, apparently
flowing in three directions at once, which is
contrary to reason. Lightning above the cloud,