Note 24 — Chapter XV
Reading edition
The writer once, on a thick night, in a passenger steamer in the Race of Alderney, when the engines were stopped and soundings were being taken, saw the reel and cord go overboard, nearly taking one of the men with it. A new hank of cord had to be got and bent on a new reel; an operation that took a long time, during which the exact locality of the ship was a matter of uncertainty. Comment is needless!