th a cry of joy, for she saw her child's face at the moment as they
unbound him from Jim's breast, but she sprang short. Little wonder that
a woman should neglect to make due allowance for the quick swooping of
the boat! Next moment she was in the boiling foam. A moment later and
she was in Stanley Hall's grasp, and both were swept violently to
leeward, but the rope brought them up. Despite darkness and turmoil the
quick-eyed coxswain and his mate had noted the incident. Pike payed out
the hawser, the coxswain eased off the spring; away went the boat, and
next moment Pike had Stanley by the hair. Short was the time required
for their strong arms to pull him and his burden in-board; and, oh! it
was a touching sight to witness the expressions of the anxious faces
that were turned eagerly towards the boat, and glared pale and ghastly
in the flaring light, as her sturdy crew hauled slowly up, hand over
hand, and got once more under the vessel's lee.

No sooner were they within reach than another impatient passenger leaped
overboard. This was Jim's faithful dog Neptune! Watching his time with
the intelligence of a human being, he sprang, with much greater
precision and vigour than any human being could have done, and,
alighting on Pike's shoulders, almost drove that stout boatman into the
bottom of the boat.

Soon the boat was as full as it could hold. All the women and children
had been got into her, and many of the male passengers, so that there
was no room to move; still there remained from twenty to thirty people
to be rescued. Seeing this, Jim seized Neptune by the neck and flung
him back into the wreck. Catching a rope that hung over the side, he
also swung himself on board, saying,--"You and I must sink or swim
together, Nep! Shove off, lads, and come back as soon as you can."

The hawser was slipped as he spoke; the lifeboat was hauled slowly but
steadily to windward up to her anchor. Tons of water poured over her
every moment, but ran through her discharging tubes, and, deeply loaded
though she was, she rose buoyant from each immersion like an invincible
sea-monster.

When the anchor was reached, a small portion of the foresail was set,
and then, cutting the cable with one blow of a hatchet, away they went
like the scudding foam right over the boiling shallows on the spit of
sand.

"Hand out a blue-light there," cried the coxswain. A sharp blow caused
the blue-fire to flare up and shed a light tha