Pull for the shore, sailor, Pull for the shore.

It helped to drown their cries for assistance.

O’Neil judged that the ship was at least a quarter of a mile from the beach, and his heart sank, for he doubted that either he or his companion could last long in these waters.  It occurred to him that Brennan might be close by, waiting for the Nebraska to sink —­it would be unlike the little captain to forsake his trust until the last possible moment—­but he reasoned that the cargo of lives in the skipper’s boat would induce him to stand well off to avoid accident.  He called lustily time after time, but no answer came.

Meanwhile the girl stood quietly beside him.

“Can’t we make a raft?” she suggested, timidly, when he ceased to shout.  “I’ve read of such things.”

“There’s no time,” he told her.  “Are you very cold?”

She nodded.  “Please forgive me for acting so badly just now.  It was all so sudden and—­so awful!  I think I can behave better.  Oh!  What was that?” She clutched him nervously, for from the forward end of the ship had come a muffled scream, like that of a woman.

“It’s my poor horses,” said the man, and she looked at him curiously, prompted by the catch in his throat.

There followed a wait which seemed long, but was in reality of but a few minutes, for the ship was sliding backward and the sea was creeping upward faster and faster.  At last they heard a shuddering sigh as she parted from the rocks and the air rushed up through the deck openings with greater force.  The Nebraska swung sluggishly with the tide; then, when her upper structure had settled flush with the sea, Murray O’Neil took the woman in his arms and leaped clear of the rail.

The first gasping moment of immersion was fairly paralyzing; after that the reaction came, and the two began to struggle away from the sinking ship.  But the effect of the reaction soon wore off.  The water was cruelly cold and their bodies ached in every nerve and fiber.  O’Neil did his best to encourage his companion.  He talked to her through his chattering teeth, and once she had recovered from the mental shock of the first fearful plunge she responded pluckily.  He knew that his own heart was normal and strong, but he feared that the girl’s might not be equal to the strain.  Had he been alone, he felt sure that he could have gained the shore, but with her upon his hands he was able to make but little headway.  The expanse of waters seemed immense; it fairly crushed hope out of him.  The lights upon the shore were as distant as fixed stars.  This was a country of heavy tides, he reflected, and he began to fear that the current was sweeping them out.  He turned to look for the ship, but could see no traces of her, and since it was inconceivable that the Nebraska could have sunk so quietly, her disappearance confirmed his fears.  More than once he fancied he heard an answer to his cries for help—­ the rattle of rowlocks or the splash of oars—­but his ears proved unreliable.