Now and then she would slop tons of water on her deck, and her mainyard would almost touch the water.

But still the dark clusters of men along her bulwarks held steadfast, and the ship's head never veered half a point.

Now it became apparent that she would clear the reef by a hundred yards or more, and Halbert, waving his hat, cried out,-- "Well done, Blockstrop! Bravely done, indeed! He is running under the lee of the Cape for shelter.

Her Majesty has one more ship-of-war than I thought she would have had five minutes ago." As he spoke, she had passed the reef.

The yards, as if by magic, swung round, and, for a moment, she was broadside on to the sea.