her circumspectly while the freshening breeze blew the spray all
over them. They had to fight for every fathom, and once or twice she
nearly rolled over with them, while the icy water grew steadily deeper
inside her. Then it became apparent by degrees that, as they could not
have reached the schooner had they attempted it, they were pulling for
their lives, and that the one way of escape open to them was to find an
opening of some kind round the point. Its ragged tongue was horribly
close to lee of them lapped in a foaming wash when the snow cleared for
a minute or two, and they saw that Dampier had driven the _Selache_
further off the ice. She was hove to now, and there was a black figure
high up in her shrouds.

Just then, however, a bitter rush of wind hurled the spray about them,
and the boat fell off almost beam on to the sea, in spite of all that
they could do. The icy brine washed into her, and it seemed almost
certain that she would swamp or roll over before they could get way on
her. Still, pulling desperately, they drove her round the point.
Then, as gasping and dripping they made their last effort, a sea rolled
up ahead, and Wyllard had a momentary glimpse of an opening not far
away as she swung up with it. He shouted to his companions, but could
not tell whether they heard and understood him, for after that he was
only conscious of sculling savagely until another sea broke into her
and she struck. There was a crash, and she swung clear with the
backwash, with all one side smashed in. Then she swung in again just
beyond a tongue of ice over which the froth was pouring tumultuously,
and the Indian jumped from the bow. He had the painter with him, and
for half a minute he held her somehow, standing in the foam, while they
hurled a few of the carefully made-up packages in her as far on to the
ice as possible. Then, as Wyllard, who seized one sled frame, jumped,
she rolled over. He landed on his hands and knees, but in another
moment he was on his feet, and he and the Indian clutched at Charly,
who drove towards them amidst a long wash of foam.

They dragged him clear, and as he stood up dripping without his cap a
sudden haze of snow whirled about them. There was no sign of the
schooner, and they could scarcely see the broken ice some sixty yards
away. They had made the landing, wet through, with about half their
stores, and it was evident that their boat would not carry them across
the narrowest