268 THE VOYAGE OF THE ' DISCOVERY ' [Feb. 



' And the situation seemed to have no ray of comfort in it. 

 On deck the wind was howling through our rigging, the ship 

 was swaying helplessly and rising slightly each moment, to 

 crash down once more on the stony bottom j the seas were 

 breaking heavily over the stern and sending clouds of spray 

 high up the masts ; the breakers on the shore flung the back- 

 wash over our forecastle ; the water was washing to and fro on 

 our flooded decks. Towering above us within a stone's throw 

 was the rocky promontory of Hut Point ; on its summit, and 

 clearly outlined against the sky, stood the cross which we had 

 erected to our shipmate. I remember thinking how hard it 

 seemed that we had rescued our ship only to be beaten to 

 pieces beneath its shadow. 



' If the situation on deck was distressing, that below fairly 

 rivalled it. Each time that the ship descended with a sicken- 

 ing thud into her rocky bed the beams and decks buckled 

 upwards to such an extent that several of our thick glass dead- 

 lights were cracked across, every timber creaked and groaned, 

 doors flew to and fro, crockery rattled, and every loose article 

 was thrown into some new position. With the heavier blows 

 one could see the whole ship temporarily distorted in shape ; 

 through all and directly beneath one's feet could be heard the 

 horrible crunching and grinding of the keel on the stones 

 below. 



1 When it was known that nothing more could be done it 

 was curious to see how different temperaments took it. Some 

 sat in stony silence below, some wandered about aimlessly, and 

 some went steadily on with an ordinary task as though nothing 

 had happened. I almost smiled when I saw our excellent 

 marine Gilbert Scott dusting and sweeping out the wardroom 

 and polishing up the silver as if the principal thing to be feared 

 was an interference with the cleanly state in which he usually 

 keeps all these things. For myself I could not remain still. 

 How many times I wandered from the dismal scene on deck 

 to the equally dismal one below I do not know, but what I do 

 know is that I tasted something very near akin to despair. 



' But if this afternoon was a horrible experience, it has at 



