awful breaker, whose tumultuous and raging advance was seen
afar in the moonlight, this powerful jerk of the tightening hawser,
which had got under the very keel of the lifeboat, lifted her up so
high that she struck in her descent, with her ponderous iron keel or
very undermost part of the lifeboat, the top rail of the Mandalay's
bulwarks. The marvel is how she escaped being turned right over by the
shock. The next day I saw with astonishment the crushed woodwork where
this mighty blow had been struck.

The lifeboat's rudder was smashed and her great stern post sprung, and
one of the crew that remained in her was also injured, but still
Roberts held on to the ship. At this critical moment Hanger, seeing
the lifeboat's safety was endangered, and regarding it as a question of
saving not only his comrades' lives but the lives of all, most
reluctantly gave orders to cut the steel hawser of the tug, which was
made fast on board the vessel. This would have of course sacrificed
all the trouble and risk that had been incurred; another tug-boat had
also crept up on the starboard bow to help the first, and efforts were
being made to get her hawser too on board; in fact, success and safety
seemed almost within their grasp, but it was a matter of life or death,
and one of the Deal men, obeying orders, seized an axe and hewed and
struck with all his might at the steel hawser, which was still
endangering the lifeboat.

Strand after wire strand was divided, when a great sea came and the
vessel trembled from her keel to her truck, and all hands had to hold
on for life. Down again came the axe, as the sea went by. But its
edge was blunted and it cut slowly, as the wielder doubled his efforts
in reply to the shouts, 'Cut the hawser, or the lifeboat's lost!'

A confused struggle was now going on; some were passing the second
tug-boat's hawser on board, and some were trying, under pressure of
dire necessity, to cut the hawser by which the Cambria tug was
straining at the vessel, and still the terrible hawser got under the
lifeboat, and still the axeman strove vainly with a blunted axe to
divide the hawser.

Another sea came racing at the vessel. It lifted her off the Sands,
and thumped her down with such fury that Hanger said, 'The bottom is
coming out of her!'

Just then, holding on to prevent himself falling, he looked at the
compass, 'Great heavens! She's moving! She's slewing, lads!' he said;
the axeman threw down his u