to realise that the peril was imminent, and momentarily growing
more so, and that immediate action was necessary.

Without pausing to consider further, I rushed below and hammered at the
cabin doors of Anthea and Julius, which were contiguous; and upon
receiving a reply, shouted to them to dress at once and join me with all
speed in the drawing-room. Then I sped to the stewardesses' quarters,
roused them, and finally made my way to Mrs Vansittart's cabin, where I
met the lady, fully dressed, just emerging.

She must have read in my countenance that there was trouble ahead, for
she came forward at once with outstretched hands, exclaiming:

"What is it, Walter? Does this dreadful gale mean danger to us?"

"It does indeed, madam, I greatly fear," I replied; and I proceeded to
explain the situation rapidly to her. While I was doing so, Anthea and
her brother made their appearance.

Naturally, they were all greatly discomposed at my statement of the
imminence of our danger, but never for a moment did they flinch. On the
contrary, the women appeared to be a good deal more calm and composed
than I was. They asked what they were to do, and when I told them, set
to work quietly but expeditiously collecting a quantity of food of
various kinds in tins, being assisted in this by the two stewardesses,
who now came upon the scene.

Meanwhile, the wreck had been bumping more and more heavily as we stood
and hurriedly conversed; sea after sea had broken over her, with
ever-increasing violence, and I was now in a very fever of anxiety
touching the safety of the boat. As soon, therefore, as I had started
my little crew to work, I rushed out on deck again, to see how matters
were going there.

I was no sooner in the open than I perceived that, even during my short
absence from the deck, the conditions had changed very materially for
the worse. The wind was now blowing with hurricane force, and evidently
piling up the water on the reef, for the seas that now swept across it
were momentarily gaining in power and weight, almost every one that
reached the wreck lifting her bodily and shifting her a fathom or so,
ever in the fatal direction of the edge of the reef. But the worst
feature of the case, after all, was that, while shifting the wreck, the
seas had canted her, so that she now lay fair and square broadside on to
them, and every one that struck her made a clean breach over her, and
threatened either to destroy or to swee