"

"I trust that they are, mother; but still I cannot help feeling anxious
on such a night as this, with the wind howling and raging round us, when
I think in what condition a ship must be placed, exposed on the wild sea
to its fury."

"Your father has often said that he cares little for the heaviest gale,
provided he has plenty of sea-room; and a better-found ship and
stauncher crew than his, he declares, does not sail out of the port of
Liverpool."

"I know that he has great faith in the _Steadfast's_ good qualities; but
even the finest ship may meet with accidents; and oh, how many are the
dangers she must have to run before she returns home!" said Hannah, with
a sigh.

"Your father is a careful navigator, my dear, and he has vigilant
officers. His first mate is a tried hand, and he considers Leonard
Champion, his second mate, young as he is, an excellent seaman and fully
capable of taking charge of a ship; he hopes, indeed, to get him the
command of one when he returns, though he would be sorry to lose him."

"I know that, mother; and I am wrong to express my fears," answered
Hannah. "Still I cannot help feeling for the poor seamen who may be
battling with the tempest to-night; and that makes me more anxious,
perhaps, about those who are far away, and of the dangers to which they
may be exposed. Surely there was another gun!"

She again went to the window, and, throwing it open, looked out into the
darkness. The fierce wind coming in made the curtains flutter, and
almost blew out the lamp.

"I saw the flash of a gun, mother. It is in the direction of those dark
rocks which lift their heads above the water!" exclaimed Hannah. "Ah!
I heard the sound also. There is another flash! They must have come
from some unfortunate ship. Perhaps she is already on the rocks. Can
any boat venture out to her assistance in a storm like this? I will
shut the window directly, mother," she added, looking round, and trying
to catch the fluttering curtains.

Again she looked out. "I cannot be mistaken!" she exclaimed, the tone
of her voice showing her anxiety. "There is another gun. The ship must
be in fearful peril! Can nothing be done to help the poor people?"

Mrs Graybrook, convinced that Hannah was right in her conjecture, came
to the window, and mother and daughter stood gazing out for some
minutes, and trying to penetrate the thick gloom which hung over the
wild, tempestuous sea raging below them.

A fie