A CORN OF WHEAT 263 



that the only way of saving his companions was to 

 get the boat upright, bravely rushed for'ard, cut 

 the halyards of the sail and the rigging on one side 

 of the mast. He then evidently managed to get 

 to the other side of the boat, and was engaged in 

 clearing away the remaining stays which held the 

 mast when the boat must have suddenly righted 

 herself, the mast toppled over, tore away the socket 

 in which its heel was held, caught Captain Clisby 

 (on what would then be the lee side of the boat), 

 and there the brave, devoted fellow must have been 

 held, pinned down as in a vice by the weight and 

 pressure of the mast, etc., and so perished, partly, 

 we think, by the injuries he had received, and partly 

 by the cold seas which must have washed continually 

 over him. 



" The others, as we surmise, must have held on 

 to the boat as long as possible, but were finally 

 overcome with the cold and washed off. 



"Oh, the utter sadness of the awful catastrophe ! 

 What can one do in this trying hour ? Our refuge 

 is in God ! We know His love never fails ! What 

 He doeth we know not now, but we shall know 

 hereafter." 



On August 15 " I consulted Captain Sheridan, 

 and it was decided that he should take the few 

 men now on the island, and look for any further 

 signs of wreckage. We also thought (although the 

 chances are slight indeed) that some of the party 



