fe-boat." I held her child in
my arms till she was in the boat, and then kissed the child and handed
her safe down. I now said to the people in her, "You have got your
freight, my lads, all but me, and I am not coming yet awhile. Pull away
from the ship, and keep off!"

That was the Long-boat. Old Mr. Rarx was one of her complement, and he
was the only passenger who had greatly misbehaved since the ship struck.
Others had been a little wild, which was not to be wondered at, and not
very blamable; but, he had made a lamentation and uproar which it was
dangerous for the people to hear, as there is always contagion in
weakness and selfishness. His incessant cry had been that he must not be
separated from the child, that he couldn't see the child, and that he and
the child must go together. He had even tried to wrest the child out of
my arms, that he might keep her in his. "Mr. Rarx," said I to him when
it came to that, "I have a loaded pistol in my pocket; and if you don't
stand out of the gangway, and keep perfectly quiet, I shall shoot you
through the heart, if you have got one." Says he, "You won't do murder,
Captain Ravender!" "No, sir," says I, "I won't murder forty-four people
to humour you, but I'll shoot you to save them." After that he was
quiet, and stood shivering a little way off, until I named him to go over
the side.

The Long-boat being cast off, the Surf-boat was soon filled. There only
remained aboard the Golden Mary, John Mullion the man who had kept on
burning the blue-lights (and who had lighted every new one at every old
one before it went out, as quietly as if he had been at an illumination);
John Steadiman; and myself. I hurried those two into the Surf-boat,
called to them to keep off, and waited with a grateful and relieved heart
for the Long-boat to come and take me in, if she could. I looked at my
watch, and it showed me, by the blue-light, ten minutes past two. They
lost no time. As soon as she was near enough, I swung myself into her,
and called to the men, "With a will, lads! She's reeling!" We were not
an inch too far out of the inner vortex of her going down, when, by the
blue-light which John Mullion still burnt in the bow of the Surf-boat, we
saw her lurch, and plunge to the bottom head-foremost. The child cried,
weeping wildly, "O the dear Golden Mary! O look at her! Save her! Save
the poor Golden Mary!" And then the light burnt out, and the black dome
seemed to com