Harder and harder blew the wind and fiercer and fiercer grew the sea.

The boat plunged heavily through the squalls and came up to the wind, the sail shaking in the stiffest gusts.

Every now and then, as the night wore on, the moon would shine down through a rift in the driving clouds, and in the momentary light I could see the ghostly faces of men, sitting up to trim the boat as she heeled over to the wind.

When the moon was hidden its presence was revealed still by the light reflected on the streaming glaciers of the island.

The temperature had fallen very low, and it seemed that the general discomfort of our situation could scarcely have been increased; but the land looming ahead was a beacon of safety, and I think we were all buoyed up by the hope that the coming day would see the end of our immediate troubles.