ave there was a shock that nearly threw Jack
off his feet, prepared for it though he was. In a moment he steadied
himself, and crept forward and cut the lashing of the hawser just as Tom
severed that of the chain. The latter rattled out for a moment. There
was another shock, but less violent than the first, and then the renewed
rattle of the chain showed that she was drifting astern. Ben now left
the tiller and sprang forward. The jib was run in by the traveller and
got down, the foresail had been cast off and had run down the forestay
the moment she struck, and the three now set to work to lower the
mainsail.

"She is dragging," Tom said, examining the lead-line, "but not fast."

"Give her another five or six fathoms of chain," Ben said, himself
attending to the veering out of the hawser.

This done they again watched the lead-line. It hung straight down by the
side of the vessel.

"They have got her!" Ben said. "Now then for the ship."

For the first time since they entered the broken water they had leisure
to look about them. Those on board the ship had lost no time, and had
already launched a light spar with a line tied to it into the water.

"It will miss us," Ben said, after watching the spar for a minute. "You
see, I allowed for wind and tide, and the wind does not affect the spar,
and the tide will sweep it down thirty or forty yards on our port bow."

It turned out so. Those on board payed out the line until the spar
floated abreast of the smack, but at a distance of some thirty yards
away.

"What is to be done?" Ben asked. "If we were to try to get up sail again
we should drift away so far to leeward we should never be able to beat
back."

"Look here," Jack said; "if you signal to them to veer out some more
rope I could soon do it. I could not swim across the tide now, but if it
were twenty fathom further astern I could manage it."

"You could never swim in that sea, Jack."

"Well, I could try, uncle. Of course you would fasten a line round me,
and if I cannot get there you will haul me in again. There cannot be any
danger about that."

So saying Jack at once proceeded to throw off his oil-skins and
sea-boots, while Ben went to the bow of the boat and waved to those on
the wreck to slack out more line. They soon understood him, and the spar
was presently floating twenty yards further astern. Jack had by this
time stripped. A strong line was now fastened round his body under his
arms, and going u