d at the critical moment, and to put their
trust in the mercy of God; impressing upon them that only by such
self-possession, coupled with promptest obedience to orders, could there
be any hope of saving their lives; and I wound up by reminding them that
there were women and children on board whose only hope of preservation
lay in the courage and obedience which I now exhorted them to exercise.

As I completed my brief address the deep, thunderous boom of the sea
upon the reef broke for the first time upon our ears, as though to warn
us that the moment of trial was at hand; and, looking anxiously ahead, I
saw that the outer extremity of the white water was already dead ahead
of us, and that the ship was doomed!

"We shall never weather it, lads," I shouted; "we cannot possibly do it.
Stand by the braces, fore and main, and be ready to square the yards
when I give the word to bear up. We shall have to run her in upon the
beach, and take our chance of its being softer ground than the reef. As
soon as you have squared the yards and caught a turn with the braces,
come up on the poop, all of you, and group yourselves well aft; it will
be the safest part of the ship when she broaches to, and you will be out
of the way of the falling masts. Take a firm grip of the most solid
thing you can lay hold of, or the first sea that breaks over us will
wash you overboard."

So saying, I sprang aft and stationed myself close to the little group
of cowering women and children who were huddled together under the lee
of the skylight, in readiness to afford such protection and help to them
as might be possible in the impending desperate and almost hopeless
struggle for life.

The final moment had now arrived; the white water was almost under the
bows of the ship; another plunge or two would put the poor little craft
plump upon the reef; and with a heavy heart I turned to the helmsman to
give him the fatal sign. As I did so, a loud flap overhead and the
simultaneous righting of the ship caused me to glance aloft in amazement
and wonder as to what was happening. Could it be? By Heaven, yes! The
wind had dropped, as if by magic, or a miracle, and for the moment there
was a breathless calm, leaving us within fifty fathoms of the reef and,
with the momentum of our rapid progress through the water, rushing
straight at it. Instinctively I bounded with one mad spring to the
wheel, and, shouting to the bewildered man who held it, "_Hard do