to the deck. The voices of the officers were heard in quick,
anxious, peremptory orders; and those of the crew in prompt, eager,
terrified responses.

And through all came shrieks of terror, anguish, and despair.

"The ship has struck!" "We are lost!" "God have mercy!" were the
cries.

Ishmael hurried on his clothes and rushed to the deck. Here all was
panic, confusion, and unutterable distress. The fog had cleared
away; day was dawning; and there was just light enough to show them
the utter hopelessness of their position.

The steamer bad struck a rock, and with such tremendous force that
she was already parting amidships; her bows were already under water
and the sea was breaking over her with fearful force.

How had this happened, with the lighthouse ahead? Was it really a
lighthouse, or was it a false beacon?

No one could tell; no one had time to ask. Everybody was fast
crowding to the stern of the ship, the only part of her that was out
of water. Some crawled up, half drowned; some dripping wet; some
scarcely yet awake, acting upon the blind impulse of self-
preservation.

Two of the lifeboats had been forcibly reft away from the side of
the ship by the violence of the shock and carried off by the sea.
Only two remained, and it was nearly certain that they were not of