Wal Jessop crawled to the edge of the rocks, and then, taking a firm hold of the rope, slipped quickly over. Two men held the rope near the edge, the others were behind, and one man stood watching Jessop, giving the signal when to stop and when to lower.
The wind was blowing strong from the sea, and it took Wal Jessop all his time to keep himself clear of the rocks. He dared not push off with his feet because the wind swung him back violently. He was bruised and scratched, and his clothes were torn, when he reached a rock above the level of the waves, and signalled to stop lowering.
‘He’s down,’ said the man giving orders to the others, ‘and in a safe place, too.’
Mary Jessop felt thankful for this, but she would not be at rest until her husband reached the top again.
Wal Jessop unfastened the rope and left it dangling. He then sat down and looked around him. Those above could merely see a small figure contemplating the scene. On all sides there was ample evidence of a wreck, but it seemed to Wal Jessop the vessel had been shattered to atoms.
‘Not much chance of anyone being saved,’ he thought sadly. ‘How could they be dashed against these rocks and live?’
He scrambled along from rock to rock and found very little. A hat or a coat he came across, lodged high up on some projection. There was plenty of timber and odds and ends, but not a sign of any living soul. He searched in one direction, towards the Heads, for about an hour, and then began to make his way in the opposite direction. It was hard work, for the sea was still rough and the wind high, and it was difficult for him to obtain a firm foothold on the slippery slabs and slanting rocks.
He was about to give up his search, when he caught sight of something white lying on a high level piece of rock some distance away.
‘Wonder what that is?’ he thought. ‘A white jacket, or something of the sort, I expect. Anyhow, now I am here, I may as well go and see.’
He scrambled along, and as he neared the object that had attracted his attention, his heart began to beat fast. The white garment he fancied covered a human form. Could it be possible? Had some poor fellow been cast up by the sea on to a ledge of safety? He hurried on, in the hope that after all he might be able to save a human life. What a feeling of exultation comes over a man when he snatches a fellow-creature from the jaws of death! Wal Jessop had saved men’s lives before this time, but he was anxious to save someone from this fearful wreck if possible.