them when a huge wave fell on it as it were out of the sky. It sank
like lead. Thanks to the lifebuoys Underhill and the men rose quickly
to the surface. Two of them, who could not swim, cried out
despairingly for help. Underhill seized one and held him up; the other
was saved by the promptitude of young Smith. Seeing their plight, he
caught up a rope which had been brought ashore, and flung it among the
group of men struggling in the water. The drowning man clutched it,
the others swam to it, and by its aid all were drawn ashore, gasping
for breath, and sorely battered by the jagged rocks.

"All safe, thank heaven!" said Underhill, as he joined the others;
"but I'm sorry we've lost the boat."

The shipwrecked party found themselves on a narrow beach, behind which
rose steep cliffs, rugged and difficult to climb. Against these they
crouched to find some shelter from the storm, and watch the gradual
dismemberment of the ill-fated _Albatross_. Wave after wave broke over
her, the spray dashing so high that even her funnel sometimes
disappeared from view. The spectators held their breath: could she
live out the storm? At last a tremendous sea swept her from the hollow
in which she was wedged, and she plunged beneath the waters.






CHAPTER I

THE CABLEGRAM