Dundee in Scotland. She was commanded by a captain
named John Humble and had aboard all told about sixty-three persons,
including the passengers and crew. She was a fine new steamer, well and
strongly built, but she had put to sea with her boilers in poor
condition, and it had been intended to give them a thorough overhauling
in Dundee.

When the steamer was off Flamborough Head the boilers commenced to
leak, and the ship's fires were extinguished. They were rekindled and
the leak repaired, but just as the _Forfarshire_ was off the Farne
Islands the gale broke with great fury. While pitching in the heavy
seas the boilers leaked terribly, the fires were again put out and the
ship became unmanageable. Sails were hoisted, but were torn to ribbons
by the wind. With no propelling power the _Forfarshire_ rolled helpless
in the trough of the sea, and was swiftly borne toward the rocks. Fog
and rain made it impossible for the sailors to see until they were in
the teeth of the breakers, and then the beam of the lighthouse showed
them the wild rocks only a short distance away.

Nothing could save them from destruction. With a crash the steamer
drove on the Harcars rocks and remained there, the seas breaking
completely over it. Some of the crew launched a boat and escaped,
deserting their captain, the passengers and the ship. The rest clung to
what supports they could find and held on expecting instant death.

A wave, larger than the rest, picked up the _Forfarshire_ bodily and
drove it down again upon the rocks, breaking it in two. The after half
of the vessel was swept away by the seas with many passengers and the
captain and his wife. All were lost. On the forward part of the ship
about twelve wretched persons remained in most desperate plight, the
seas breaking over them and threatening to engulf the remaining portion
of the vessel.

When day broke the wreck could be seen from the mainland, but the
misery of the unfortunate persons who survived was even more plain to
William Darling and his family. Grace begged her father to launch a
boat and go to their assistance, but Darling, brave sailor as he was,
knew that there was little or no chance of his ever reaching the doomed
ship, and shook his head. Then Grace began to plead with her father,
telling him it would be better for him to lose his life than to pass by
people in such distress, and that she herself would go with him and
bear a hand at the oars. Darling was no cowa