keep the fire burning, and then turned and walked away with lagging
feet. Joining the men who were still tending the line that was attached
to the wreck, he gazed down at the scene of tumult and pounding
destruction without a word.

"The gale bes blowin' herself out, skipper," remarked Bill Brennen.

Nolan stared blankly for a moment, then aroused himself furiously from
the strange spell that had enthralled his mind since first he had looked
at the face of the girl lashed to the cross-trees. He swore violently,
then flung himself full-length at the very edge of the cliff, and
studied the position of the stranded vessel. He saw that she was firm on
the rocks for almost half her length. She was badly ripped and stove,
but her back was not broken. She seemed to be in no danger of slipping
off into deep water, and as the wind and seas were moderating, she
promised to hold together for several hours at least. He got to his feet
and gave his opinion of the situation to the men as if it were a law.

"She bes hard an' fast," he said. "Wid the weather liftin', she'll not
fall abroad yet awhile, nor she don't be in any risk o' slidin' astarn
an' founderin'. We has plenty o' time to break out the cargo, men,
after the sea quiets a bit. Aye, plenty o' time to sculp her. Now, I
wants four o' ye to rig up a hammock o' some sort, wid lines an' a
tarpaulin, an' help me tote the lady back-along to the harbor. Step
lively, men!"

A few of the men ventured to show something of the amazement which they
all felt by staring at him, round-eyed and open-mouthed; but he glared
them down in short order. So four of them set about the construction of
a hammock and the others crowded along the cliff and gazed down at the