Duckling began to fumble at one end of the boat’s falls.

“Don’t let him lower away!” roared out one of the men in the boat.  “He’ll let us go with a run.  He’d like to see us drowned!”

Duckling fell back, scowling with fury; and shoving his head over as the boat sunk quietly into the water, he discharged a volley of execrations at us, saying that he would shoot some of us, if he swung for it, before he was done, and especially applying a heap of abusive terms to me.

The fellow pulling the bow oar laughed in his face; and another shouted out, “We’ll teach you to say your prayers yet, you ugly old sinner!”

We got away from the ship’s side cleverly, and in a short time were rowing fast for the wreck.  The excitement under which I labored made me reckless of the issue of this adventure.  The sight of the lonely man upon the wreck, coupled with the unmanly, brutal intention of Coxon to leave him to his fate, had goaded me into a state of mind infuriate enough to have done and dared anything to compel Coxon to save him.  He might call it mutiny, but I called it humanity; and I was prepared to stand or fall by my theory.  The hate the crew had for their captain and chief mate was quite strong enough to guarantee me against any foul play on the part of Coxon; otherwise I might have prepared myself to see the ship fill and stand away, and leave us alone on the sea with the wreck.  One of the men in the boat suggested this; but another immediately answered, “They’d pitch the skipper overboard if he gave such an order, and glad o’ the chance.  There’s no love for ’em among us, I can tell you; and by ——! there’ll be bloody work done aboard the Grosvenor if things aren’t mended soon, as you’ll see.”

They all four pulled at their oars savagely as these words were spoken; and I never saw such sullen and ferocious expressions on men’s faces as came into theirs, as they fixed their eyes as with one accord upon the ship. She, deep as she was, looked a beautiful model on the mighty surface of the water, rolling with marvelous grace to the swell, the strength and volume of which made me feel my littleness and weakness as it lifted the small boat with irresistible power.  There was wind enough to keep her sails full upon her graceful, slender masts, and the brass-work upon her deck flashed brilliantly as she rolled from side to side.

Strange contrast, to look from her to the broken and desolate picture ahead!  My eyes were riveted upon it now with new and intense emotion, for by this time I could discern that the person who was waving to us was a female,—­woman or girl I could not yet make out,—­and that her hair was like a veil of gold behind her swaying arm.

“It’s a woman!” I cried in my excitement; “it’s no man at all.  Pull smartly, my lads! pull smartly, for God’s sake!”