lose all as lose our sail! Gather it in and stow it as best we may. Keep
her before the wind, you lubbers! Handle your oars for your lives!"

For now the great boat, losing her sail, must depend upon oars, and with
two men at each, and Alderton and the Cornish giant steering as best
they might against a sea howling and leaping like wild beasts around
them, the shattered craft drove on past the headland of Manomet,
steering straight for the deadly rocks off the Gurnet's Head, which
Coppin espying from the bows, he uttered a cry of dismay, shouting,--

"The Lord be merciful to our sinful souls, for I never saw this place
before!"

"Breakers ahead!" shouted Clarke. "Beach her, Alderton! Run her ashore
on yon headland! We that can swim may save ourselves! Beach her, I say!"

"And I say no such coward thing," retorted Alderton. "About with her,
men! Row, row for your lives! Bend down to it! So! Pull, pull! I see a
channel ahead and smooth water! Hold on here, Jim, till I get out
another oar, this cracks! Now then! Yeo-ho! Here we go past the reef!"

And weathering Brown's Island and the Gurnet Rocks, the brave fellow
steering more by instinct than sight, for darkness had fallen with the
storm, the shallop struck the channel then dividing Saquish from the
Gurnet, flew through it like a hunted creature, and forging past the
north headland of a small densely wooded island found herself in calm
water close under its lee.

"There, men, ye are safe, thanks to stout hearts and arms and good ashen
blades!" exclaimed Alderton drawing his first full breath since seizing
the steering oar.

"Thanks to God Almighty who still giveth His servants the victory,"
amended Carver, who had toiled with the sturdiest.

"And now, where are we and what is to do next?" demanded Standish
clenching his blistered hands.

"We are between two shores, maybe islands both, maybe the lee shore is
the main," replied Coppin peering through the darkness. "And more I know
not."

"And I for one am minded to get ashore and see if there be stuff for a
fire and shelter, whatever name the place may hold," cried Hopkins
dashing the drops of salt water from his face and beard.

"And I," added Standish heartily. "What say you, Master Carver? Shall we
land and make some sort of randevous upon the shore?"

"The place may be full of salvages, who, drawn by the light of a fire,
can come upon us unaware," replied Carver hesitatingly.

"As well risk another enco