enly it slackened, and
with horror they felt that he was being carried off by the hungry waves.
They were about to haul in the rope to try to save his life, when once
more it straightened and he seemed to be proceeding as before. At last
they felt that the end was being lifted up, and all the slack hauled in.
They fancied also that they heard his voice shouting to them; but it
came to the teeth of the wind, and they could not understand what was
said.

"I will go over and learn what he wants," cried Jack, guessing that he
wished them to join him.

Jack, as he spoke, seized the rope, and grasping it tightly worked his
way on till he found himself surrounded by the foaming sea as it dashed
through a passage which he saw evidently separated two rocks. More than
once he was plunged over head and ears, but on he went wading among the
rugged rocks, and every instant expecting to be carried off his legs.
Often he had to stop to recover his breath. Once he was completely off
his legs and had to float on his back, while he worked his way along by
the rope. At length he reached the side of a large rock, and by the
fact of the lichens growing out of its crevices he knew that he must be
above the reach of the waves. In another minute he found himself
alongside Mr Hemming, who congratulated him on getting safe across.
They shouted to the other people to join them, but their voices were
drowned by the noise of the tempest. At last Jack begged that he might
go and hurry them over, and argued that as he was the slightest of the
two, he should run less risk of being carried away. Jack seized the
rope, and in spite of the waves which washed over him, by stopping every
now and then and grasping it with all his might, he succeeded in
returning to the spot where his shipmates were collected. Some of the
Spanish officers and men were also on the rock, though others were on
the forecastle of the brig, and a few still clung to the shattered poop.
At that moment a tremendous sea knocked the poop to pieces and sent
most of the wretches who clung to it to destruction, a few only reaching
the rock.

"Come, Adair, now is your time to cross," cried out Jack. "Quick,
quick."

Jack, seizing Terence's hand, guided him to the rope. Terence crossed
without much difficulty, Dick Needham and the rest following with their
sick comrades; Jack brought up the rear, but a sea caught him, and he
had to hold on like grim death to save himself. Dic