e a ram's horn; and
by the taffrail her worn and sodden crew clustered and cheered the
Burdock.

The Captain rang off his engines and rang again to stand by in the
engine-room. The mate came up the ladder to him while his hand was
yet at the telegraph.

"Lifeboat's all clear for lowering, sir," he said. "Noble, Peters,
Hansen, and Kyland are to go in her." He waited.

The old captain stood looking at the wreck, while the steamship
rolled tumultuously in the trough.

"Who goes in charge?" he asked, after a minute's silence.

"I'll go, father," said the mate eagerly. He paused, but the Captain
said nothing.

"You know," proceeded the mate, "father, you do know there's none of
'em here can handle a boat like me."

"Aye," said the Captain, "you can do it." He looked at his son
keenly. "It 'ud make a good yarn to spin to Minnie," he said, with an
unwilling smile.

The mate laughed agreeably. "Dear Minnie," he said. "Then I'll go,
father."

"And I'll just see to the hoisting out of that boat," said the
Captain. "Good thing I had you put in the new pins."

The third mate on the bridge rang for steam and made a lee for the
lowering of the lifeboat, the hands put a strain on the tackles, and
the carpenter and bo'sun went to work to knock out the chocks on
which she rested. Her steel-shod keel had rusted into them.

"Hoist away on your forward tackle," ordered the Captain. "Belay!
Make fast! Now get a hold of this guy. Lively there, you men. Noble,
aloft on the booms and shoulder her over."

She canted clear of the groove in the chocks as they swung the
forward davit out and the Captain stepped abaft the men who hauled.

"Lively now," he called. "Don't keep those chaps waiting, men. After
davit tackle, haul! Up with her."

The bo'sun, stooping, looped the fall of the tackle into the snatch-
block; the men, under the Captain's eye, tumbled to and gave way,
holding the weight gallantly as the rail swung down and putting their
backs into the pull as she rolled back.

"Up with her!" shouted the Captain, and she tore loose from her bed.
"Vast hauling! Belay! Now out with the davit, men."

He stepped a pace forward as they passed out the line. "Haul away,"
he was saying, when the bo'sun shouted hoarsely and tried to reach
him with a dash across the slippery deck planks. The mate screamed,
the Captain humped his shoulders for the blow. It all happened in a
flash of disaster; the boat's weight pulled the pin from th