r of
the pier-head the boat and her crew were met not only by the tumultuous
surging of cross seas, but by a blast which caught the somewhat high bow
and almost whirled them into the air; while in its now unbroken force
the cold blast seemed to wither up the powers of the men. Then, in the
dark distance, an unusually huge billow was seen rushing down on them.
To meet it straight as an arrow and with all possible speed was
essential. Failure here--and the boat, turning side on, would have been
rolled over and swept back into the harbour, if not wrecked against the
breakwater.

The coxswain strained at the steering oar as a man strains for life.
The billow was fairly met. The men also strained till the stout oars
were ready to snap; for they knew that the billow must be cut through if
they were to reach the open sea; but it was so high that the bow of the
boat was lifted up, and for one instant it seemed as if she were to be
hurled backward right over the stern. The impulse given, however, was
sufficient. The crest of the wave was cut, and next moment the bow fell
forward, plunging deep into the trough of the sea. At the same time a
cross-wave leaped right over the boat and filled it to the gunwales.

This initial danger past, it was little the men cared for their
drenching. As little did the boat mind the water, which she instantly
expelled through the discharging tubes in her floor. But the toil now
began. In the teeth of tide and tempest they had to pull with might and
main; advancing foot by foot, sometimes only inch by inch. No rest; no
breathing time; nothing but continuous tearing at the oars, if progress
was to be made, while the spray enveloped them perpetually, and at
frequent intervals the "solid" water, plunging inboard, almost swept the
heroes from their seats.

But if the raging sea through which the lifeboat struggled was dreadful,
much more terrible was the turmoil on the outlying sands where the wreck
was being gradually dashed to pieces. There the mad billows held high
revelry. Rushing in from all sides, twisted and turned in their courses
by the battered shoals, they met not far from, the wreck with the shock
of opposing armies, and clouds of foam sprang upward in dire,
indescribable confusion.

The vessel in distress was a small brig. She had been lifted like a
plaything by the waves, and hurled high on the sand, where, although now
unable to lift her up, they rolled her to and fro wit