that angry sea, one moment low down in the trough, and the
next upon the summit of the waves towering above the deck of the ship.
Nothing of less importance than the saving of a human life would have
warranted the launching of a boat in such a wild condition of the
waves. The sailor who had been sent into the shrouds was ordered to
point constantly toward the man in the water, so that those in the
boat might know in what direction to steer.

"Give way, men, give way with a will!" said the officer, and the oars
bent to the muscular power of the crew.

The ship had been under a twelve-knot headway when the accident
happened, and the man, supported by the buoy, was already a mile or
more to leeward. Then occurred a singular and inopportune
circumstance, which was for a moment the cause of dangerous delay. The
sturdy seaman who pulled the stroke oar of the boat just launched was
seen to falter, cease rowing, and suddenly to bend forward, as though
he were paralyzed. The excitement of the moment completely unmanned
him. His heart for an instant ceased to beat. The first officer
comprehended the situation instantly. Seamen are trained to
promptness; so off came his coat, the tiller was thrust into the
half-fainting sailor's hand, accompanied by a brief command,--he could
steer if he could not pull,--and the officer bent his own stout arms
and body to the stroke oar. There was no time for words,--the stake
was a human life. One or two of the anxious passengers whispered the
word "Shark!" Where were those tiger-fish at this critical moment? The
boat made slow but steady headway towards the distant seaman, while he
at the tiller steered as was indicated by the man stationed high up in
the ship's shrouds. Upon reaching the bridge and relieving the officer
on duty, the captain, while issuing his other orders, had coolly rung
down to the engine-room,--"Stand by! Slow down! Stop her! Back her!"
with a brief interval between each signal. Then, stepping to the
starboard end of the bridge, he waved his handkerchief to the fast
disappearing seaman to let him know that his commander was at his post
and would do his best to save him. The big hull, in response to her
reversed propeller, after a few moments of tremulous indecision, began
to move stern foremost. Several passengers ascended the rigging to
keep the boat in view, for it too was lost to sight from the deck. It
struggled stoutly with the angry sea, which seemed loath to give up