sent a wave right
over the pier, and well-nigh swept away one or two of them. The
argument of the storm was more powerful than that of the young sailor--
no one responded to his appeal, and when the boat came alongside the
stairs, none moved to enter her except himself.

"That's right, Bob Gaston," cried one of the four men who had jumped
into the boat when she was launched, "I know'd you would be the first."

"And I won't be the last either," said young Gaston, looking back at the
men on the pier with a smile.

"Right, lad!" cried Captain Boyns, who came up at the instant and leaped
into the boat. "Come, lads, we want four more hands--no, no, Harry," he
added, pushing back his son; "your arms are not yet strong enough; come
lads, we've no time to lose."

As he spoke, a faint cry was heard coming from the wreck, and it was
seen that one of the masts had gone by the board, carrying, it was
feared, several poor fellows along with it. Instantly there was a rush
to the lifeboat! All thought of personal danger appeared to have been
banished from the minds of the fishermen when the cry of distress broke
on their ears. The boat was overmanned, and old Jacobs, the coxswain,
had to order several of them to go ashore again. In another minute they
were at the mouth of the harbour, and the men paused an instant as if to
gather strength for the mortal struggle before quitting the shelter of
the breakwater, and facing the fury of wind and waves.

"Give way, lads! give way!" shouted old Jacobs, as he stood up in the
stern-sheets and grasped the steering oar.

The men bent to the oars with all their might, and the boat leaped out
into the boiling sea. This was not one of those splendid boats which
now line the shores of the United Kingdom; nevertheless, it was a noble
craft--one of the good, stable, insubmergible and self-emptying kind
which were known as the Greathead lifeboats, and which for many years
did good service on our coasts. It sat on the raging waters like a
swan, and although the seas broke over it again and again, it rose out
of the water buoyantly, and, with the brine pouring from its sides, kept
end-on to the seas, surmounting them or dashing right through them,
while her gallant crew strained every muscle and slowly urged her on
towards the wreck.

At first the men on shore gazed at her in breathless anxiety, expecting
every moment to see her overturned and their comrades left to perish in
the waves; b