Chapter 16

Thou glorious mirror, where the Almighty's form
Glasses itself in tempests; in all time,
Calm or convulsed -- in breeze, or gale, or storm,
Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime
Dark-heaving; -- boundless, endless, and sublime --
The image of eternity; the throne
Of the Invisible; even from out thy slime
The monsters of the deep are made; each zone
Obeys thee; thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, alone.
BYRON.

As the day advanced, that portion of the inmates of the vessel
which had the liberty of doing so appeared on deck. As yet the
sea was not very high, from which it was inferred that the cutter
was still under the lee of the islands; but it was apparent to all
who understood the lake that they were about to experience one of
the heavy autumnal gales of that region. Land was nowhere visible;
and the horizon on every side exhibited that gloomy void, which
lends to all views on vast bodies of water the sublimity of mystery.
The swells, or, as landsmen term them, the waves, were short and
curling, breaking of necessity sooner than the longer seas of the
ocean; while the element itself, instead of presenting that beautiful
hue which rivals the deep tint of the southern sky, looked green
and angry, though wanting in the lustre that is derived from the
rays of the sun.

The soldiers were soon satisfied with the prospect, and one by one
they disappeared, until none were left on deck but the crew, the
Sergeant, Cap, Pathfinder, the Quartermaster, and Mabel. There
was a shade on the brow of the last, who had been made acquainted
with the real state of things, and who had fruitlessly ventured an
appeal in favor of Jasper's restoration to the command. A night's
rest and a night's reflection appeared also to have confirmed the
Pathfinder in his opinion of the young man's innocence; and he,
too, had made a warm appeal on behalf of his friend, though with
the same want of success.

Several hours passed away, the wind gradually getting heavier and
the sea rising, until the motion of the cutter compelled Mabel and
the Quartermaster to retreat also. Cap wore several times; and it
was now evident that the _Scud_ was drifting into the broader and
deeper parts of the lake, the seas raging down upon her in a way
that none but a vessel of superior mould and build could have long
ridden and withstood. All this, however, gave Cap no uneasiness;
but, like the hunter that pricks his ears at the sound of the horn,
or the war-horse that paws and snorts with pleasure at the roll
of the drum, the whole scene awakened all that was man within him;
and instead of the captious, supercilious, and dogmatic critic,
quarrelling with trifles and exaggerating immaterial things, he
began to exhibit