When he recovered and looked round, the Active had
drawn out from between the Spaniards, and the great galleon which
had so nearly sunk her was close beside him.
The sea was in a turmoil; the waves as they set in from the west
being broken up by the rolling of the great ships, and torn by the
hail of shot. The noise was prodigious, from the incessant cannonade
kept up by the English ships and the return of the artillery on
board the Armada, the rending of timber, the heavy crashes as the
great galleons rolled against one another, the shouting on board
the Spanish ships, the creaking of the masts and yards, and the
flapping of the sails.
On trying to strike out, Geoffrey found that as he had been knocked
overboard he had struck his right knee severely against the rail
of the vessel, and was at present unable to use that leg. Fearful
of being run down by one of the great ships, and still more of being
caught between two of them as they rolled, he looked round to try
to get sight of an English ship in the throng. Then, seeing that
he was entirely surrounded by Spaniards, he left the spar and swam
as well as he could to the bow of a great ship close beside him,
and grasping a rope trailing from the bowsprit, managed by its aid
to climb up until he reached the bobstay, across which he seated
himself with his back to the stem.
Pages:
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204