Most of the poor women were uttering cries and lamentations in their terror for the safety of their husbands left on board. There were still also a number of poor women and children. Willy felt more anxious for them even than for the men.
The boat was seen coming back. “Oh, they have given it up. There is no hope for them! Dear, dear Charles! he will be lost. I wish we had stayed with him,” cried May.
“I am very sure Harry Shafto has not given it up,” said Willy. “He knows that the only way to get the people out of the ship is on this side. We shall soon see what he is about to do.”
The part of the reef where the ship had struck was under water, and some distance from the point of rocks which ran out from the shore. Had she gone to pieces and no boat been at hand, although so close to the land, the greater number, if not all, might have perished, for the surf as it receded would have carried them off, and even the strongest swimmer would have found it difficult to make way against it.
Harry and his brave crew were now seen to approach as near the ship as they could venture without the risk of being carried on the rocks. Several persons were standing on the ship’s starboard bow, which was now nearest the shore. One of them held a coil of light rope in his hands; he hove it, but it fell short. Again and again he made the attempt. At length a person standing near was observed to fasten it round his waist, when, holding on by another rope, he lowered himself down. He waited till the receding sea had gone past him, and then, as another rolled up, he leaped on its crest, and was borne onwards, striking out boldly towards the beach. On he struggled. Again the receding sea bore him backwards towards the reef. He redoubled his exertions. Harry ordered the cutter to “back in,” anxious to assist the brave fellow. The rocks appeared fearfully close. He stretched out his hand to grasp the swimmer’s arm. “Give way, lads, give way,” he shouted; and the boatswain coming to his assistance, they hauled the man in, and secured the rope which was fastened to his waist. They now pulled away across the little bay formed by the reef and the shore, towards a high rock which jutted out from the beach.
“I thought Bill Windy would do it,” exclaimed the man who had been rescued; and without shaking the water from his clothes, he began hauling in on the line which he had brought with him. At the other end was a hawser which the boat now towed towards the rock. Leaping on to it, the boatswain and Lizard made fast the hawser. A communication was thus established between the vessel and the shore.
Emily and May, with the rest of the party on the beach, had been watching these proceedings with intense eagerness. The boat again pulled back towards the wreck. The brave mate was seen to cling to the hawser, and work his way back. Several times the surf covered him, but he held on tight, and, emerging from the water, clambered up the bows of the ship. The hawser was tautened up, while the boat hung on to it, ready to receive the next comers. The mate was soon again seen making his way along the hawser, carrying another line and a block. He reached the boat in safety, when the block was secured, just above the boat. A cradle, which had meantime been prepared, was slung on the hawser; but eager as those on board were to reach a place of safety, they appeared to hesitate about trusting themselves to it.
“Why are they losing so much precious time?” cried Emily. “How fearfully the sea is breaking over the ship; any moment she may be dashed to pieces, or fall off the rocks into the deep water. Oh, see! see! there is a man making the attempt with two children. It is Mr Paget.” That gentleman, finding others hesitated, had taken two infants from their mothers’ arms, and had seated himself in the cradle, to set an example to the rest of the people on board. Holding on with one hand, and steadying the cradle with the other, though the surf as it rose washed over him more than once, he reached the boat with his charges.
“Thank Heaven!” exclaimed Emily. “He is safe! he is safe! And there is Charles; he is following the brave example.”
Several other persons succeeded in gaining the boat. Tom Loftus, Jack Ivyleaf, and Mr Bolton, the father of the large family already on shore, were among them. Each brought either a couple of children or one of the women with him—the latter being afraid of trusting themselves alone. The boat was already full, and as yet no casualty had occurred; but the danger was every instant increasing. The tide was rising, the sea striking with fearful violence against the side of the ship, making every timber in her quiver. It need not be told how heartily those who now reached the shore were welcomed by the party already on the beach—how his wife and children clung round Mr Bolton; how Emily and May pressed Charles’ hand; and how, in voluble language, Mrs Clagget expressed her satisfaction at seeing her fellow-passengers out of the terrible wreck.