. "A few minutes must settle
the point."

"Luff, luff all you can, men," he exclaimed, as if those on board could
hear him. Probably they had caught sight of the terrific sea breaking
over the cliffs, and still hoped to weather the little island under
their lee bow.

All this time Lawrence Brindister kept his post, with his pony and dog
by his side, waving his arms towards the ship, and apparently shouting
out as before.

"She will weather the Skerry even now," cried Morton, but at that
instant a squall--one of the last blasts of the tempest--struck her.
Over went her mainmast, her head fell off from the sea, on she flew amid
showers of foam, and in another minute she was hid to view by the rocky
island before them. In vain they hoped against hope to see her appear
on the other side. Her fate was indeed sealed. There was only one spot
where even in moderate weather a landing could be without difficulty
effected on Ossa Skerry. Still Morton and his friend resolved to
attempt it. There was not a moment to be lost, already, probably,
numbers of the hapless crew were being swept to destruction. They
hurried down the cliff, sprang on board the boat, and shoved off.
Morton steered: with rapid strokes they pulled down the remainder of the
voe; even there heavy waves rolled in and showed the crew the sort of
sea with which they would have to contend when they got outside. Few
but Shetlanders would have attempted to face such a sea, and the finest
of boats alone could have lived in it. They reached the mouth of the
voe; their passage through the mouth was the first danger they had to
encounter; a huge sea came thundering in.

"Back off all," cried Morton; and instead of forcing the boat onward,
she slowly receded before the wave, which broke in a loud crash directly
before her, the foam flying over her bows and deluging her fore and aft.
"Now, lads, give way," shouted Morton again, and before the next sea
broke, the boat had got into deep water. They now encountered the full
force of the gale; and none but a boat admirably manned, as was theirs,
could have made headway against it, nor could she have escaped being
instantly swamped, unless steered with the greatest caution and
judgment. Now she rose on the top of a sea surrounded with foam, now
she plunged down into the trough, and those standing on the rocks, at
the mouth of the voe, feared more than once that she had sunk for ever.
Again she rose on the side of