s calling the watch reached me brokenly through the
deep bellowing of the gale and the loud seething of the boiling sea; and
presently I could see, by the increased bulk of the group of crouching
figures under the lee of the deck-house, that everybody was now out of
the forecastle. The saloon party were scarcely less expeditious; for in
a few minutes they, too, appeared on deck, wrapped in rugs and blankets
snatched hastily from the beds upon which they had been sleeping; and I
at once disposed them as comfortably as I could on the deck, under the
lee of the companion and skylight, where they would be in a measure
sheltered from the flying spray.

Then, calling Mr Forbes, I bade him take two hands below to collect and
bring on deck all the life-belts we could muster, and serve one out to
each man. This was soon done; the life-buoys were cut loose and piled
in a safe and convenient position on the poop; and we were ready for any
emergency. Nor were we any too soon; for we were now close upon the
reef, while we had settled so far to leeward that it had become apparent
to everybody that nothing short of a miracle could save us.

It was a bitter thought to me that, having brought the ship so far on
her voyage, safely and prosperously, I was now about to lose her through
what appeared to be nothing less than a cruel and malicious stroke of
fortune. For if the gale had broken upon us during the hours of
daylight, instead of in the darkness of night, we should undoubtedly
have discovered the hazard of our position in time to have avoided
running, as we had, blindly into this horrible death-trap. And not only
should I lose the ship--a loss, it is true, that was to a great extent
covered by insurance--but every scrap of property that any of us
possessed on board her would also undoubtedly become the prey of the
devouring sea--for there was no hope of saving anything out of the ship
if she once touched that reef--and, worst of all, there was only too
great a probability that many precious lives would be lost; it seemed,
indeed, very questionable whether _any_ of us could hope to escape the
fury of that raging surf.

It was, however, no time for repining; still less for any yielding on my
part to a feeling of despondency. I therefore called the hands under
the lee of the long-boat, and in a few brief words stated to them our
position, exhorted them with all the earnestness of which I was master
to be cool and self-possesse