AURORA AUSTRALIS.
difficulty; the ponies snort, stamp, kick and keep us anxious.
Crash! a sea aboard and the sack on which we are sitting is swept from under us, we are rolled into the smother of sea, mixed up with trusses of hay, sacks of oats, food-boxes etc.. The ponies on the weather side kick frantically, one has his fore legs, over the bar; Joyce is up and pushing him back before I can extricate myself from the tangle, when I do I only hold on to a rope and render what assistance I can.
This is followed by a succession of seas aboard, and we heap curses on the helmsman for letting us fall off our course. Occasionaly we are swept off our feet, and can only hold on and do little to soothe the ponies. They suffer continually and we pity them, hoping for finer weather. The mats are slipping from under their feet, we replace them with difficulty and repeat the performance at intervals.
Another period of comparative calm follows; I volunteer to raid the galley and make some cocoa. Here there is a scene of wild confusion; the floor is flooded, littered with coal, and slippery with grease; after many 'mishaps, “Scottie” coming along gives valuable assistance.
