he ship was lifted
up by a perfect mountain of a sea, and hove over on her beam-ends; all
hands of us were flung violently to leeward; and before apparently any
of us had time to recover our feet, another sea swept down upon us;
there was a terrific--an ear-splitting crash, a wild, agonised cry, and
I found myself clear of the wreck, struggling wildly for life, with the
body of the master within arm's length of me.

He was apparently dead, and floating face downwards; but I grasped him
by the hair, turned him on his back, and struck out for the beach.
Twice were we flung like corks upon the pebbles of the strand, and twice
dragged off into deep water again by the merciless undertow. The first
time I dug my fingers, knees, and the toes of my boots into the pebbles,
in the hope of bringing myself and my senseless charge to an anchor; but
I might as well have attempted to grasp the air. The whole of that
portion of the beach which was exposed to the action of the sea was a
vast moving mass, the shingle being alternately thrown up and sucked
back again in tons, as the water hurled itself high upon the beach and
then rushed back into the foaming abyss.

The second time we were thrown up with such violence that I was stunned;
but the third time the brave fellows on the beach, who had been making
the most frantic efforts to get at us, would take no denial. They
watched their chance, and as they saw us again drifting in, two, with
ropes round their waists, rushed into the sea, grasped us, one each,
firmly round the body; and, though they were lifted off their feet and
dragged away to seaward like feathers by the retiring breaker, never let
go their hold until we were hauled up high and dry, clear beyond the
reach of the heaviest wave.

The efforts made to restore me to consciousness were soon successful,
but my fellow-sufferer, the master of the vessel, appeared to be
seriously injured. It was nearly half an hour before the faintest signs
of returning animation were perceived; and when at length consciousness
returned, the poor fellow appeared to be suffering the most excruciating
agony.

As soon as I was once more able to look about me, I found that the wave
which had washed the master and me overboard, had broken the wreck in
two just abaft the mainmast, flinging the stern portion much nearer the
shore, whilst it had turned the other half fairly bottom up,
precipitating, of course, all the poor fellows, who were so bu