gs of gold-dust now--now that wild
despair has seized them all, excepting those who, through God's grace,
have learned to "fear no evil?"

Suddenly, through darkness, spray, and hurly-burly thick, a ghostly boat
is seen! The lifeboat! Well do the seamen know its form! A cheer
arouses sinking hearts, and hope once more revives. The work of
rescuing is vigorously, violently, almost fiercely begun. The merest
child might see that the motto of the lifeboat-men is "Victory or
death." But it cannot be done as quickly as they desire; the rolling of
the wreck, the mad plunging and sheering of the boat, prevent that.

A sturdy middle-aged man named Brown--a common name, frequently
associated with common sense--is having a rope fastened round his waist
by one of the lifeboat crew named Jones--also a common name, not seldom
associated with uncommon courage. But Brown must wait a few minutes
while his wife is being lowered into the boat.

"Oh! be careful. Do it gently, there's a good fellow," roars Brown, in
terrible anxiety, as he sees her swung off.

"Never fear, sir; she's all right," says Jones, with a quiet reassuring
smile, for Jones is a tough old hand, accustomed to such scenes.

Mrs Brown misses the boat, and dips into the raging sea.

"Gone!" gasps Brown, struggling to free himself from Jones and leap
after her, but the grasp of Jones is too much for him.

"Hold on, sir? _she's_ all right, sir, bless you; they'll have her on
board in a minute."

"I've got bags, boxes, _bucketfuls_ of gold in the hold," roars Brown.
"Only save her, and it's all yours!"

The shrieking blast will not allow even _his_ strong voice to reach the
men in the lifeboat, but they need no such inducement to work.

"The gold won't be yours long," remarks Jones, with another smile.
Neptune'll have it all to-night. See! they've got her into the boat all
right, sir. Now don't struggle so; you'll get down to her in a minute.
There's another lady to go before your turn comes.

During these few moments of forced inaction the self-possessed Jones
remarks to Brown, in order to quiet him, that they'll be all saved in
half an hour, and asks if he lives near that part of the coast.

"Live near it!" gasps Brown. "No! I live nowhere. Bin five years at
the diggings. Made a fortune. Going to live with the old folk now--at
Blunderton, far away from the sea; high up among the mountains."

"Hm!" grunts Jones. "Do they help to float the lif