truction of
the ship, and before it could gather strength again it had swept
harmlessly past the boat and, equally harmlessly, down upon us. A few
minutes later, the little craft--oh, what a frail cockleshell she looked
in the midst of that mountainous sea!--swept close under our stern and,
splendidly handled by Roberts, came to under our lee. The ends of the
two whips were smartly hove into the boat and caught, and Roberts,
instantly comprehending my intentions, lost not a moment in putting them
into effect. The barque, with her main-topsail aback but with her
fore-topsail and fore-topmast staysail full, was forging very slowly
ahead, just sufficiently so to enable those in the gig to sheer her well
away from the ship's side when towed along by the whip from the
fore-yardarm; while with the aid of the whip and hauling-line from the
main yardarm we were able to get the rescued people quickly and safely
out of the boat and in upon our own deck, where--the boat now demanding
our most unremitting attention--we turned them over to the willing hands
of Sir Edgar Desmond and his party, the women finding themselves
impelled by their sympathy to take an active part in the reception of
the poor half-drowned fellows. Our own lads worked intelligently and
with a will, and, in a shorter time than it takes to tell of it,
everybody was safely out of the boat except the chief mate and the two
smartest men we had in the ship. We were now ready to make the attempt
to hoist in the boat herself. The tackle-falls were accordingly manned
by all hands except two, who stood by with the running parts in their
hands, ready to drop them into the boat at the proper moment, while I,
in the mizzen-rigging, keeping a keen watch upon the seas, superintended
the whole. The boat was now sheered as close alongside as it was
prudent to bring her; and the two men in her stood by--one forward, the
other aft--to catch the blocks and slip the clutches into position,
Roberts, meanwhile, attending to nothing but the steering of the boat.
At length, as the ship took a terrific weather roll, and the gig seemed
to settle in almost under her bottom, I gave the word to heave, and both
tackle blocks were dropped handsomely into the hands of the men waiting
to catch them. In an instant both clutches were dashed into their
sockets--the click of the bolts reaching my ears distinctly--and the two
men simultaneously flung up their hands to show that this delicate