The sound directed the efforts of Sigismund, though the
dog had swum steadily away the moment he had the Genoese in his gripe, and
with a certainty of manner that showed he was at no loss for a direction.
But Sigismund had taxed his powers too far. He, who could have buffeted
an ordinary sea for hours, was now completely exhausted by the unwonted
exertions, the deadening influence of the tempest, and the log-like weight
of his burthen He would not desert the father of Adelheid, and yet each
fainting and useless stroke told him to despair. The dog had already
disappeared in the darkness, and he was even uncertain again of the true
position of the bark. He prayed in agony for a single glimpse of the
rocking masts and yards, or to catch one syllable of the cheering voice of
Maso. But in both his wishes were vain. In place of the former, he had
naught but the veiled misty light, that had come on with the hurricane;
and, instead of the latter, his ears were filled with the washing of the
waves and the roars of the gusts. The blasts now descended to the surface
of the lake, and now went whirling and swelling upward, in a way to lead
the listener to fancy that the viewless winds might, for once, be seen.
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