Nelly was not selfish, and though she felt that she must go forth, she was anxious that her granny should not again face the cruel storm. The dame, however, was determined to go, for she felt scarcely less anxiety than Nelly.
“Well, Nelly,” she said at length, “if you won’t let me go with you, I will just go by myself, and you must stay at home till I come back and tell you that Michael has got on shore all safe.”
Nelly yielded. She and the dame set off.
They had a fierce battle to fight with the storm, which blew directly in their faces. They worked their way onwards, holding their cloaks tight round them.
They at last reached the rocky point where, by the light of the beacon, they saw a group of men and women and boys and girls collected, with their gaze turned seaward, waiting anxiously for the appearance of the boat which had gone out over the dark and troubled ocean in search of their missing friends.
The dame and Nelly anxiously inquired what had happened. The answer made their hearts sink: the “Sea-Gull” had last been seen driving towards the rocks in an almost helpless condition; she might drop an anchor, but there was little expectation that it would hold. The only hope was that she might be reached before she was finally dashed to pieces, and those on board her had perished.
Chapter Ten.
The “Rescue” gallantly made her way amid the dark foam-crested seas, which rolled in from the westward, each appearing heavier than its predecessor.