Sergeant Dunham was a brave man, and had shown his spirit in scenes that looked much more appalling than this; but on all such occasions he had been able to act his part against his foes, while here he was pressed upon by an enemy whom he had no means of resisting.  For himself he cared far less than for his daughter, feeling some of that self-reliance which seldom deserts a man of firmness who is in vigorous health, and who has been accustomed to personal exertions in moments of jeopardy; but as respects Mabel he saw no means of escape, and, with a father’s fondness, he at once determined that, if either was doomed to perish, he and his daughter must perish together.

“Do you think this must come to pass?” he asked of Cap firmly, but with strong feeling.

“Twenty minutes will carry us into the breakers; and look for yourself, Sergeant:  what chance will even the stoutest man among us have in that caldron to leeward?”

The prospect was, indeed, little calculated to encourage hope.  By this time the Scud was within a mile of the shore, on which the gale was blowing at right angles, with a violence that forbade the idea of showing any additional canvas with a view to claw off.  The small portion of the mainsail actually set, and which merely served to keep the head of the Scud so near the wind as to prevent the waves from breaking over her, quivered under the gusts, as if at each moment the stout threads which held the complicated fabric together were about to be torn asunder.  The drizzle had ceased; but the air, for a hundred feet above the surface of the lake, was filled with dazzling spray, which had an appearance not unlike that of a brilliant mist, while above all the sun was shining gloriously in a cloudless sky.  Jasper had noted the omen, and had foretold that it announced a speedy termination to the gale, though the next hour or two must decide their fate.  Between the cutter and the shore the view was still more wild and appalling.  The breakers extended nearly half a mile; while the water within their line was white with foam, the air above them was so far filled with vapor and spray as to render the land beyond hazy and indistinct.  Still it could be seen that the latter was high, —­ not a usual thing for the shores of Ontario, —­ and that it was covered with the verdant mantle of the interminable forest.

While the Sergeant and Cap were gazing at this scene in silence, Jasper and his people were actively engaged on the forecastle.  No sooner had the young man received permission to resume his old employment, than, appealing to some of the soldiers for aid, he mustered five or six assistants, and set about in earnest the performance of a duty which had been too long delayed.  On these narrow waters anchors are never stowed in-board, or cables that are intended for service unbent, and Jasper was saved much of the labor that would have been necessary in a vessel at sea.  The two bowers were soon ready to be let go, ranges of the cables were overhauled, and then the party paused to look about them.  No changes for the better had occurred, but the cutter was falling slowly in, and each instant rendered it more certain that she could not gain an inch to windward.