ear: "Sharp's the word. We 'aven't many minutes!"

Philip made no demur. The captain's strong common sense had suggested
the best step that could be taken in the interests of all. Iris, who
was nearer yielding now that there was a prospect of being rescued than
when death was clamoring at her feet among the trembling remains of the
ship, silently permitted Coke and a sailor to strip off a life-belt and
tie her and Hozier back to back. It was wonderful, though hidden from
her ken in that supreme moment, to see how they devised a double sling
in order to distribute the strain. When each knot was securely
fastened, Coke vociferated a mighty "Heave away!"

But his powerful voice was drowned by the incessant roar of the
breakers; not even the united clamor of every man present, fifteen all
told, including the drunken chief officer, could make itself heard
above the din. Then Hozier tugged sharply at the rope three times, and
it grew taut. Amid a jubilant cry from the others, he and Iris were
lifted clear of the deck. At once they were carried fully twenty feet
to seaward. As they swung back, not quite so far, and now well above
the level of the windlass from which their perilous journey had
started, a ready-witted sailor seized a few coils of a thin rope that
lay tucked up in the angle of the bulwarks, and flung them across
Hozier's arms.

"Take a whip with you, sir!" he yelled, and Philip showed that he
understood by gripping the rope between his teeth. It was obvious that
the rescuers were working from a point well overhanging the recess into
which the _Andromeda_ had driven her bows, and there might still be the
utmost difficulty in throwing a rope accurately from the rock to the
wreck. As a matter of fact, no less than six previous attempts had
been made, and the success of the seventh was due solely to a favorable
gust of wind hurtling into the cleft at the very instant it was needed.
The sailor's quick thought solved this problem for the future. By
tying the small rope to the heavier one, those who remained below could
haul it back when some sort of signal code was established. At
present, all they could do was to pay out the whip, and take care that
it did not interfere with Hozier's ascent. They soon lost sight of him
and the girl, for the spray and froth overhead formed an impenetrable
canopy, but they reasoned that the distance to be traveled could not be
great; otherwise the throwing of a rope woul