its place a terribly ghastly glare.

It was about seven, for the doctor had just glanced at his watch to see
if it was time to repeat the medicine under whose influence he was
keeping his patient, when all at once there was a tremendous shock as if
there had been an explosion, a crashing sound heard for the moment above
the tempest's din, and then the doctor was conscious of a change, and he
knew what it meant. The thrill and vibration of the screw had ceased,
and that could only mean one thing, the falling off of the propeller or
the breaking of the shaft on which it turned.

He had proof of this a few minutes later in the movement of the great
vessel, which no longer rode steadily over the swell, head to wind, but
gradually fell off till she lay rolling in the hollows, careened over by
the pressure of the storm, and utterly unmanageable.

There was a mingling of strange sounds now, as, following the motion of
the vessel as she rolled heavily, everything below that was loose dashed
from side to side of the cabins; but still the doctor paid no more heed.
He retrimmed the lamp from time to time, and tried to retrim the lamp
of Carey Cranford's young life; but it seemed to be all in vain.

Suddenly the door opened again, and this time it was not the steward's
face which appeared, but the old sailor's.

"Any better, sir?" he said, hoarsely.

"No; worse," replied the doctor.

"So it is on deck, sir," whispered the man. "Main shaft broke short
off, and propeller gone. They've been trying to hyste a bit o' sail so
as to get steering way on, but everything's blew to rags."

The doctor nodded shortly, and after a longing look at the young patient
the man went out on tiptoe.

A couple of hours went by, with the vessel rocking horribly, and then
all at once there came a heavy grinding crash, and the rolling motion
ceased, the vessel for a few brief moments seemed at peace on an even
keel, and the doctor uttered a sigh of relief, which had hardly passed
his lips before there was a noise like thunder, the side of the steamer
had received a heavy blow, and hundreds of tons of water poured down
over her, sweeping the deck, and then retiring with a wild hissing
noise.

Doctor Kingsmead was experienced sailor enough to know that the steamer
had been carried by the hurricane upon one of the terrible coral reefs
of that dangerous sea, and he could foresee, as he believed, the
result--the billows would go on raising the vess