In this manner, then, the two
gentlemen hauled their boat as far as the bows of the ship, and Paul was
on the point of giving a last push, with a view to shove it to as great a
distance possible ahead of the packet, when its movement was suddenly and
violently arrested.
Chapter XXV.
And when the hours of rest
Come, like a calm upon the mid-sea brine
Hushing its billowy breast--
The quiet of that moment, too, is thine;
It breathes of him who keeps
The vast and helpless city while it sleeps.
BRYANT.
It was chilling to meet with this unexpected and sudden check at so
critical a moment. The first impression was, that some one of the hundreds
of Arabs, who were known to be near, had laid a hand on the launch; but
this fear vanished on examination. No one was visible, and the side of the
boat was untouched. The boat-hook could find no impediment in the water,
and it was not possible that they could again be aground. Raising the
boat-hook over his head, Paul soon detected the obstacle. The line used by
the barbarians in their efforts to move the ship was stretched from the
forecastle to the reef, and it lay against the boat's mast. It was severed
with caution; but the short end slipped from the hand of Mr. Sharp, who
cut the rope, and fell into the water.
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