Page:The Fate of Fenella (1892).djvu/271

 and the war of the turbulent waves that dashed against the bulwarks as if possessed with passionate desire to get at the flames. Ronny, his father holding one hand and Lord Castleton the other, stood on the outer fringe of the crowd aft, as near as he could get to the fire, which he was evidently enjoying as the best thing he had seen since the whale disappeared. The captain and second officer stood on the bridge, and through the wheel-house window could be seen four grim faces of the blue-jacketed giants whose curiously cheery voices answered the captain's signals with the cry "Starboard," "Steady it is, sir," The captain, leaning over the rail of the bridge and addressing the crowd of trembling but quiet passengers, said: "Friends below there, I hope you're all comfortably wrapped up. This is a bad job, but there's no danger. If it had come an hour later we should have made for Holyhead and put in all right. But with this wind and the start the fire has got I don't think we could carry on so far. The land is close by. If there were daylight we could see it. The ship is now making for the spit of land at the back of Pwlhelly. There is a smooth mile of beach there, which, if I can make it, will bring the ship up comfortably, and you can walk ashore in your slippers."

Jacynth led a cheer for the gallant captain, which was taken up by the passengers, and seemed to do them an immense amount of good.