about
two o'clock in the morning
We therefore shortened sail , and , passing very near the whaler , they hailed us ; but it blew so fresh that we did not hear what they said ; and , having increased our distance from the whaler to what was judged proper , let go the anchor . Ninety fathoms of cable ran out in a crack , before she turned head to-wind ; and , to our mortification , we found we had passed the bank upon which the whaler had brought up , and must have dropped our anchor into a well , for we had nineteen fathoms water under the bows , and only seven fathoms under the stern . The moon showed her face , just at this moment , and we had the further satisfaction of perceiving , that we were within fifty yards of a reef of rocks which lay astern of us , with their dirty , black heads above water . We were very much surprised to find , notwithstanding the depth of water , that , during the lulls , we rode with a slack cable ; but about two o'clock in the morning the cable parted , being cut by the foul ground . All sail was made immediately , but the rocks astern were so close to us , that you might have thrown a biscuit on them , and we thought the cruise of the _ True-blooded Yankee _ was at an end ; but it proved otherwise , for the same cause which produced the slack cable preserved the vessel . The _ fucus maximus _ we found had interposed between us and destruction ; we had let go our anchor in this sub-marine forest , and had perched , as it were , on the tops of the trees ; and , so thick were the leaves and branches , that they held us from driving , and prevented our going on shore when the cable had parted . We dragged slowly through the plants , and were very glad to see ourselves once more clear of this miserable spot .