erally struggling for life;
now the water poured in on one side, now on the other, as she rolled to
starboard or port.

"Hold on, hold on, my lads, for your lives!" cried the coxswain; and a
tremendous sea broke bodily over her, threatening to sweep every man on
board away. I held on, as may be supposed, like grim death. The men,
slipping from their seats, placed their breasts on the thwart, thrust
their legs under them, and clasped them with both their arms, while the
water rushed over their backs and heads, so completely burying us that I
fully believed the boat was going down; indeed, it seemed as if we were
gone. Suddenly regaining its buoyancy, up it sprang again, throwing out
most of the water through the side, while the rest sank to the bottom of
the boat, and once more she floated bravely.

The men looked round, as did I, expecting that some of their number
would have been washed away; but they had all instantly regained their
seats, and on she sped amid the hissing foam.

The wind, instead of lessening, appeared to increase, and the clouds
came down close above our heads, seeming almost to meet the dancing
crests of foam. With the masses of spray which continually broke over
her and the thick clouds above us, it was almost as dark as night; and
even the coxswain, with his sharp eyes, could with difficulty
distinguish the wreck. At last, the sands were crossed, and the boat
was once more ploughing her way through the seas, which rolled in
towards the shore with greater regularity than those we had just passed.

"I see her! I see her!" cried the coxswain, who was standing up peering
ahead. "She is little better than half a mile to leeward."

The direction of the boat was slightly altered, and we stood down
towards the wreck. As we approached her we saw that her mainmast was
gone, that her foremast and yards were still standing, with their sails
fluttering wildly from them. The lifeboat crew now looked anxiously
towards the wreck, to ascertain if any men were still left in the
rigging or on the forepart of the hull, which alone remained above the
water.

"I see one! I see _two_!" exclaimed the men, in rapid succession.
"They are waving to us."

As we got still nearer, we could count no less than eight men in the
rigging; but how to get to them was the difficulty.

"The mainmast has not been cut adrift; it will be a dangerous task,"
said the coxswain. "Lads, we shall have to board her on the
we