bay and
looked down over the foaming ocean, they could see a dark object some
fifty fathoms off, from which proceeded piercing shrieks and cries for
help. It was the hull of a large ship, hove on her beam-ends, her masts
gone, the after-part already shattered and rent by the fierce seas which
dashed furiously against her, threatening to sweep off the miserable
wretches clinging to the bulwarks and stanchions. To form a
communication with her was Captain Martin's first object. As yet it was
evident that no attempt of the sort had been made, most of the people
who had collected being more eager apparently to secure the casks,
chests, and other things thrown on shore than to assist their perishing
fellow-creatures. It was vain to shout and direct the people on the
wreck to attach a line to a cask and let it float in towards the beach.
The most stentorian voices could not make themselves heard when sent in
the teeth of the gale now blowing. On descending the cliffs, Captain
Martin and his party found a narrow strip of beach, on which they could
stand out of the power of the seas, which, in quick succession, came
foaming and roaring in towards them. He immediately ordered a couple of
rockets to be let off, to show the strangers that there were those on
shore who were ready to help them. No signal was fired in return, not
even a lantern shown, but the crashing, rending sounds which came from
the wreck made it too evident that she could not much longer withstand
the furious assaults of the raging ocean. Captain Martin inquired
whether any of his crew were sufficiently good swimmers to reach the
wreck.

Rayner longed to say that he would try, but he had never swum in a heavy
sea, and felt that it would be madness to make the attempt.

"I'll try it, sir," cried Ben Twinch, the boatswain's mate, one of the
most powerful men in the ship. "I'd like, howsomdever, to have a line
round my waist. Do you stand by, mates, and haul me back if I don't
make way; there are some ugly bits of timber floating about, and one of
them may give me a lick on the head, and I shan't know what's
happening."

Ben's offer was accepted. While the coil of line was being got ready, a
large spar, to which a couple of men were clinging, was seen floating in
towards the beach, but it was still at some distance, and there was a
fearful probability that before it touched the shore the reflux of the
water might drag them off to destruction.

"Qui