y 9 A.M. the last boat of the five and forty had got to sea. Before
midday all had made an offing of eight or ten miles, and had started to
shoot their lines. Folk who had watched them creep out of the harbour
now gave no further heed, save perhaps that wives may chance to have
cast anxious looks seaward now and again. But none dreamt of evil.

Then of a sudden, as the morning passed, some on shore became aware of a
strange, death-like stillness that had fallen over all things, a feeling
of gloom and oppression in the air. The sun indeed still shone unclouded
over the land, but away out at sea to the north-east there was a
horrible canker of blackness that was eating up the sky, and that
already had hid from sight, as by a wall, those boats that lay farthest
from the land, whilst those still visible could be seen hurriedly
letting everything go by the run. Then the blackness shut down over all,
and men could but guess what was going on behind that terrible veil.
Over the town, as people deserted their houses and hurried to cliff or
sea wall, or wherever there seemed possibility of gaining sight or
knowledge of the fleet, the same horror of darkness came rushing; wind
raved and screamed, and already a sea, indescribable in its appalling
fury, was raging into the bay, the crests, cut off as with a knife,
flying through the air like densest smoke. Rain scourged and blinded,
the driving spray lashed beyond bearing the faces of those who, dread in
their souls, peered through their sheltering hands, trying vainly to
penetrate the smother to windward. A few hundred yards of raging water,
a blurred vision of rushing, tumbling seas; tumultuous, deafening roar
of surf, the tortured scream of wind; and that was all. It was as if one
might try to gaze into the mouth of hell.

Then through this Hades of waters, rolling, tumbling, pitching, buried
almost in the breaking seas, into the bay came rushing three yawls,
manned by crab-fishers from St. Abb's, past the Hurcar Rock, and round
safely into the harbour; then a large Eyemouth fishing-boat, and
another, and another, and then a pause of sickening suspense, and two
more large boats from St. Abb's fought their way to safety. Men began
faintly to pluck up heart. If these had come out of the jaws of death,
why not the others? But now again they hoped with ever sinking hearts,
for minutes passed and there came no more. Then, even as they strained
their eyes despairingly, there came one