He was a man to strain every nerve while the faintest ray of hope remained.

He had faced many a furious storm, saved many a life that had been given up for lost by other men.
But now he could do nothing, and he crouched there--an old and broken man--for the first time realising his helplessness.
A long time passed.

The only sound within the cottage was the ticking of a grandfather-clock in a corner, while without the great sound of the breaking seas filled all the world.

The storm above had passed.

Now the thunder-blast no longer shook the cottage.