20 ROBINSON CRUSOE.

anchors, were run out of the roads to sea, at all adventures,
and that not with a mast standing. The light ships fared the
best, as not so much laboring in the sea ; but two or three of
them drove, and came close by us, running away with only their
spritsail out before the wind.

Towards evening the mate and boatswain begged the mas-
ter of our ship to let them cut away the foremast, which he was
very unwilling to do ; but the boatswain protesting to him, that
if he did not, the ship would founder, he consented ; and when
they had cut away the foremast, the main-mast stood so loose,
and shook the ship so much, they were obliged tocut that away
also, and make a clear deck,

And one must judge what a condition I must be in at all
this, who was but a young sailor, and who had been in such a
fright before at but a little. But if I can express at this dis-
tance the thoughts I had about meat that time, I was in tenfold
more horror of mind upon account of my former convictions,
and the having returned from them to the resolutions I had
wickedly taken at first, than I was at death itself ! and these,
added to the terror of the storm, put me into such a condition,
that Ican by no words describe it. But the worst was not
come yet ; the storm continued with such fury that the seamen
themselves acknowledged they had never seen a worse. We
had a good ship, but she was deep laden, and wallowed in the
sea, so that the seamen every now and then cried out she would
founder. It was my advantage in one respect that I did not
know what they meant by founder, till I inquired. However
the storm was so violent, that I saw, what is not often seen,
the master, the boatswain, and some others more sensible than
the rest, at their prayers, and expecting every moment when
the ship would go to the bottom. In the middle of the night,
and under all the rest of our distresses, one of the men that
had been down to see, cried out we had sprung a leak ; another
said, there was four feet water in the hold. Then all hands
were called to the pump. At that word, my heart, as I thought,
died within me ; and I fell backwards upon the side of my bed
where I sat, into the cabin. However, the men roused me,
and told me, that I, that was able to do nothing before, was as
well able to pump as another 3 at which I stirred up, and went
to the pump and worked very heartily. While this was doing,
the master, seeing some light colliers, who, not able to ride out
the storm, were obliged to slip, and run away to the sea, and
would come near us, ordered to fire a gun as a signal of distress.
I, who knew nothing what they meant, thought the ship had