characterises the scene of all struggles--from the melees of men, which
are called battles, to the melees of the elements, to which we give the
name of chaos. Everything was sinking and dropping away; a rolling mass
of planks, panelling, ironwork, cables, and beams had been arrested just
at the great fracture of the hull, whence the least additional shock
must have precipitated them into the sea. What remained of her powerful
frame, once so triumphant, was cracked here and there, showing through
large apertures the dismal gloom within.

The foam from below spat its flakes contemptuously upon this broken and
forlorn outcast of the sea.

III

SOUND; BUT NOT SAFE

Gilliatt did not expect to find only a portion of the ship existing.
Nothing in the description, in other respects so precise, of the captain
of the _Shealtiel_ had led him to anticipate this division of the vessel
in the centre. It was probable that the "diabolical crash" heard by the
captain of the _Shealtiel_ marked the moment when this destruction had
taken place under the blows of a tremendous sea. The captain had,
doubtless, worn ship just before this last heavy squall; and what he had
taken for a great sea was probably a waterspout. Later, when he drew
nearer to observe the wreck, he had only been able to see the stern of
the vessel--the remainder, that is to say, the large opening where the
fore-part had given way, having been concealed from him among the masses
of rock.

With that exception, the information given by the captain of the
_Shealtiel_ was strictly correct. The hull was useless, but the engine
remained intact.

Such chances are common in the history of shipwreck. The logic of
disaster at sea is beyond the grasp of human science.

The masts having snapped short, had fallen over the side; the chimney
was not even bent. The great iron plating which supported the machinery
had kept it together, and in one piece. The planks of the paddle-boxes
were disjointed, like the leaves of wooden sunblinds; but through their
apertures the paddles themselves could be seen in good condition. A few
of their floats only were missing.

Besides the machinery, the great stern capstan had resisted the
destruction. Its chain was there, and, thanks to its firm fixture in a
frame of joists, might still be of service, unless the strain of the
voyal should break away the planking. The flooring of the deck bent at
almost every point, and was tottering t