efore she was on the rocks! It is one of those
unforeseen calamities that are inevitable and which can never be
prevented by any human foresight. I for one, and I've no doubt every
one else here agrees with me, entirely exonerate you from all blame."

The captain was endeavouring to make some broken reply, as far as his
deep emotion would allow, when Mrs Major Negus interrupted him.

"Speak for yourself, please, Mr Meldrum," she exclaimed, elbowing
herself forwards in front of the group, her shrill high-pitched voice
sounding almost like another scream, as she waved her arms wildly about
and addressed Mr Meldrum and Captain Dinks alternately. "Speak for
yourself, please, for I don't agree with you at all! I say it is the
captain's fault; and he knows it, though it's rather late in the day for
him to acknowledge it! And I'd like to know, sir, how I and my darling
boy are going to get on shore now in this blinding snowstorm--in such a
bleak and dreary outlandish place, too! A nice captain you are; and you
bargained to take us safe to New Zealand when you took our passage-
money. My poor Maurice, oh my dear boy, you'll never, never see your
father now, for we'll all be drowned, and Captain Dinks is the cause of
it!"

So shrieking, she proceeded to weep and wail in a way that made Mr
Meldrum lose all patience with her.

"Peace, woman!" cried he indignantly. "This is no time for hysterics
and such violent displays: you'd better keep them till the fine weather
comes, and remain quiet now! The best thing you can do if you hope to
escape, is to allow the captain to see about getting the boats ready to
take us off, for the ship will probably break up soon."

His latter remark, while it reduced "the Major" to a state of limp
collapse that made her silent and subdued, had the effect he intended,
of rousing the captain to action--thus causing him to forget for a time
his grief at the _Nancy Bell's_ disaster in having to exert himself so
as to provide for the safety of those on board.

"Main-deck ahoy there!" he shouted.

"Aye, aye, sorr," answered the first mate, who had remained there,
looking to the trimming of the sails while the ship was working up to
the cape.

"Have the men finished storing those things in the boats yet?"

"They're jist at it now, sorr. We were all a bit flabbergasted when the
poor crathur struck; but we're working hard now, sorr, and the boats
will soon be ready to launch into the wather.