and worse, till the usual clouds of foam flew against the houses or
skimmed away into the fields beyond. When the wind reached its height
the sounds it made in the hollows were like distant firing of
small-arms, and the waves in the hollow rocks seemed to shake the ground
over the cliffs. A little schooner came round the point, running before
the sea. She might have got clear away, because it was easy enough for
her, had she clawed a short way out, risking the beam sea, to have made
the harbour where the fishers were. But the skipper kept her close in,
and presently she struck on a long tongue of rocks that trended far out
eastward. The tops of her masts seemed nearly to meet, so it appeared as
if she had broken her back. The seas flew sheer over her, and the men
had to climb into the rigging. All the women were watching and waiting
to see her go to pieces. There was no chance of getting a boat out, so
the helpless villagers waited to see the men drown; and the women cried
in their shrill, piteous manner. Dorothy said, "Will she break up in an
hour? If I thowt she could hing there, I would be away for the
lifeboat." But the old men said, "You can never cross the burn." Four
miles south, behind the point, there was a village where a lifeboat was
kept; but just half-way a stream ran into the sea, and across this stream
there was only a plank bridge. Half a mile below the bridge the water
spread far over the broad sand and became very shallow and wide. Dorothy
spoke no more, except to say "I'll away." She ran across the moor for a
mile, and then scrambled down to the sand so that the tearing wind might
not impede her. It was dangerous work for the next mile. Every yard of
the way she had to splash through the foam, because the great waves were
rolling up very nearly to the foot of the cliffs. An extra strong sea
might have caught her off her feet, but she did not think of that; she
only thought of saving her breath by escaping the direct onslaught of
the wind. When she came to the mouth of the burn her heart failed her
for a little. There was three-quarters of a mile of water covered with