doubted if the ship could possibly pass through them. Not a word
was spoken on board as the ship neared the opening. Now she swerved
a little to one side, now a little to the other, as the waves lifted
her stern and swept her along, but the hand of the master checked
her immediately, and brought her head back to the line.

She was but a length away from the passage when there was a crash
that shook her from stem to stern; then another great wave lifted
her, and Wulf saw a black wall of rock gleaming with the water that
streamed down it. The wall of rock flashed past the bulwarks so
closely that he could have touched it A moment later the ship struck
again, this time with a force that threw many off their feet, while
the mast fell over the bow. Then once more she lifted, shot a few
feet further, then struck with tremendous force and remained
stationary.

There was a grinding and splintering of planks, as the men rushed
forward, and then a wave swept over the vessel, carrying all on
deck before it into the cove beyond the rock, rolling them over and
over up a sandy shore behind. Some managed to dig their hands and
feet into the sand and to scramble out; more were sucked back again
by the receding waters. As Wulf found himself in the water he felt
his arm clutched, and Osgod shouted in his ear: "Do not struggle,
I can keep you up!"

When thrown up on the sand Wulf tried in vain to resist the backward
rush of the water; he and Osgod were borne out again. When the next
wave again swept them up Wulf saw the earl standing knee-deep in
the water, and as he was swept past, Harold seized him and Osgod,
and with tremendous strength lifted them right out of the water.