Wilders.
"The captain wants to put to sea."
"Never! not in this storm!"
"It is abating fast. Besides, he says it will be far safer to be
running snug under storm-canvas than remaining here on this wild
coast."
"I hope he will do no such thing. It will be madness. I must speak to
him at once."
She seized a shawl, and, throwing it over her head, ran up on deck.
McKay followed her and was by her side before she had left the
companion-ladder.
"Take care, pray. There is a heavy sea on still and the deck is very
slippery. I will call Captain Trejago if you will wait here."
"One moment; do not leave me, Mr. McKay. What an exciting,
extraordinary scene! But how terrible!"
The yacht rode the waves gallantly: now on their crest, now in the
trough between two giant rollers, and always wet with spray. Fragments
of wreck still came racing by, borne swiftly by the waters and adding
greatly to the horrors of the dread story they told.
"There must have been immense loss among the shipping," said McKay.
"It is a mercy and a marvel how we escaped."
"The poor things! To be lost--cast away on this cruel, inhospitable
land. How very, very sad!"
"It is safer, you see, to leave this dangerous anchorage. Do you still
want the captain? He is busy there forward."
For the moment everyone was forward: they were all intent on the
straining cables and the muddle of gear that would have to be cleared
or cut away when they got up sail.
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