he'll probably break the wire."

Lister agreed. The thick hemp rope stretched and absorbed the strain;
the wire was less elastic. They were approaching Carmel Point, and
Holyhead was not far, but they must front the gale when they got round
the corner. In the meantime, the engines were running smoothly, and
Lister smoked and waited while the sea got worse. Flashing lights ahead
and the violent lurching indicated that they crept round the point. Then
_Terrier_ plunged into a white sea and deck and bulwarks vanished. Her
bows swung out of the foam and Lister ran to the door. He felt the tug
leap forward and knew the rope had gone.

He got out in front of Brown and plunged down the ladder. Since
_Terrier_ must be stopped and turned, he was needed. Water ran from his
clothes when he reached a slanted platform and seized a greasy wheel.
The telegraph gong was clanging and the beat of engines slackened as he
followed the orders. Then the spinning cranks stopped altogether and for
a minute or two there was a strange quietness. One heard the wind, and
water splashed in the bilges.

Lister got the signal _Ahead slow_, and when he restarted his engines
ran up the ladder. He could trust the man he left, and wanted to see
what was happening. It was a moment or two before he could satisfy his
curiosity, and then a bright beam illuminated the tug and angry water.
Brown was burning a blue-light while _Terrier_ crept up to the hulk. He
meant to pass the fresh hawser, but could not launch a boat, and Lister
doubted if the men on the hulk could heave the heavy wire rope on board.
Although one must get near to throw a line, it looked as if Brown were
going alongside.

Two dark figures, crouched on _Terrier's_ rail like animals ready to
spring, cut against the blaze. Brown was going alongside; anyhow, he was
going near enough for the men to jump, but the thing was horribly risky.
If the rolling hulk struck the tug planks and iron plates would be
beaten in; moreover the men must jump from the slanted rail, and if they
jumped short, their long boots and oilskins would drag them down.

It looked as if Cartwright knew how to choose men for an awkward job,
for as the tug got nearer Lister saw the men meant to go. She swung up
on the top of a white sea; the hulk, swept by spray, rolled down, with
her deck close below the steamer's rail. One felt they must shock, but
they did not. The dark figures leaped, there was a faint shout, a line
whir