of taking them off,"
answered Truck. "As the wreck lies, she is not likely to be seen from
the shore, and the people may perish before they can receive
assistance."

As soon as it was settled that we should do so, the trysail was lowered,
and the mainsail, with a couple of reefs down, was set, with a bigger
jib and foresail. We now stood in towards the rocks. As we drew
nearer, we saw that the wreck was that of a large vessel, and that she
so lay as to be partially sheltered from the heavier seas, which must
have been raging when she struck. The depth of water, however, would
prevent us anchoring. Papa proposed to heave the cutter to while the
boat pulled in under the lee side of the rock, whence he hoped to be
able to communicate by means of lines with the people on board, should
any still remain alive.

As we drew still nearer, I took the glass, and turning it towards the
wreck, I could distinguish a number of people on the fore part, which
was the least battered, from having been more protected than the stern.
I spied out a man who had climbed to the upper part of the bulwarks, and
was waving a handkerchief or towel.

"She went on shore at high-water, and the tide left her where she is.
When it returns it will wellnigh cover her; and as those poor people
will be washed off, there is no time to be lost," observed Truck.

Papa agreed with him. We had a long way to beat back to where the wreck
was lying. Those on board probably knew their danger. How anxiously
must they have looked out for our coming!

It was a question whether we could get near the vessel. Papa ordered
all the spare rope we possessed to be coiled away in the boat, and he
had one of our round life-buoys, slung by four ropes, fastened to a
block--the largest we had on board. This formed a cradle, by which, if
necessary, we could haul the people from the wreck to the boat, could we
once get close enough to pass a rope on board.

At length, getting sufficiently near to leeward of the rock, we hove-to,
when, greatly to my satisfaction, papa allowed me to go and steer, while
he, with two hands, went in the boat, leaving Truck and Dick to manage
the vessel. We first pulled round to where the wreck lay; but papa was
soon convinced that we could not approach her on the weather-side
without great risk of being swamped. Papa hailed, and made signs that
we were going round on the lee side of the rock; we there found a little
cove, or bay, into