et her back so
as to approach the line. It seemed then extremely dangerous to approach
it, as the end of it was flying hither and thither, whipping the surges
which boiled beneath it, or whirling and curling in the air, as it was
swung to and fro by the impulse of the wind, or by the swaying of the
yard-arm from which it was suspended.

The boat however approached the line. Mr. Holmes, when he saw it within
reach, sprang forward to the bows, and after a moment's contest between
an instinctive shrinking from the gigantic lash which was brandished so
furiously over his head, and his efforts to reach it, he at length
succeeded in seizing it. He grasped it by both hands with all his force,
and the next instant the boat was swept away from beneath him by the
retreating billows, and he was left safely dangling in the air.

[Illustration: CLIMBING THE ROPE.]

We say _safely_, for, whenever any one of these indomitable sea-kings,
no matter in what circumstances of difficulty or danger, gets a rope
that is well secured at its point of suspension, fairly within his iron
gripe, we may at once dismiss all concern about his personal safety. In
this case the intrepid adventurer, when he found that the boat had
surged away from beneath him, and left him suspended in the air over the
raging and foaming billows, felt that all danger was over. To mount the
rope, hand over hand, till he gained the yard-arm, to clamber up the
yard to the mast, and then to descend to the deck by the shrouds,
required only an _ordinary_ exercise of nautical strength and courage.
All this was done in a moment, and Mr. Holmes stood upon the deck,
speechless, and entirely overcome by the appalling spectacle of terror
and distress that met his view.

The crew gathered around the stranger, whom they looked upon at once as
their deliverer, and listened to hear what he had to say. He informed
them that the ship was grounded on a narrow reef or bar running parallel
with the coast, and that there was deeper water between them and the
shore. He counseled them to cut loose from the anchor, in which case he
presumed that the shocks of the seas would drive the ship over the bar,
and that then she would drift rapidly in upon the shore; where, when she
should strike upon the beach, they could probably find means to get the
passengers to the land.

This plan was decided upon. The cable was cut away by means of such
instruments as came to hand. The ship was beaten over