ON THE ROCKS. 131 



All the quoit-playing and fun on board suddenly 

 ceased, and the cry went round " We're on the 

 rocks ! " which was true enough, inasmuch as they 

 could be plainly seen from the forecastle deck. The 

 tragic fate of the people who had gone down with 

 the Drummond Castle a few days before was still 

 clinging with all its horrors to the minds of most 

 of our passengers, whose fears were heightened 

 when they saw the crew begin to lower the boats. 



No sooner had the ship struck than I dived 

 below for my box of St. Kilda negatives, which 

 had been stowed away for safety in the grog cellar 

 beneath the saloon deck, now thickly strewn with 

 broken wine glasses that had been shaken from 

 their place over the dining table. 



The order went round that nothing in the shape 

 of luggage could be taken in the boats. I was 

 quite willing to let my clothing and collection of 

 natural history specimens and curiosities go to the 

 bottom, but the St. Kilda negatives I simply 

 couldn't give up. They appealed to me like dumb 

 children, and I, on their behoof, to one of the 

 officers with all the eloquence I could summon; but 

 Ids heart was as adamant, and he regarded not my 

 pleadings. 



The situation was curious and extremely interest- 

 ing, for it afforded me an opportunity of noting 

 the behaviour of my fellow creatures in the hour of 

 danger. One little man cut a ridiculous figure by 

 rushing about affecting to be very brave and cool, 

 yet trembling like an aspen-leaf in every limb and 

 looking as white as if he had just shaken hands with 

 a ghost, all the while worrying the crew with such 

 questions as " Has she got water-tight bulkheads?" 

 " Is the water coming into her ? " and so on, to each 

 of which he received a courteous " Yes" or "No" as 



