One terrific splintering crash, and then an awful sound of grinding and tearing and battering. The ship’s lights heaved up and fell again in a terrible fashion, and amid the shrill whistling of the gale there rang out a wail of human anguish and despair, and then hoarse loud voices, as if in command; though there was no distinguishing words in the strife of the elements. Motionless, awed, triumphant, yet withal almost terrified, the wreckers sat in their boats and listened and waited. It needed no great exercise of knowledge to tell them that the great vessel had heeled over and was settling--settling slowly to her end; that there could be no launching of boats--no hope for any on board unless they were stout and sturdy swimmers and well acquainted with the coast. The vessel had actually impaled itself, as it were, upon the cruel sharp point of one of the horns. The water had rushed in through the ruptured side, and almost at once the great floating monster had heeled over, and, though partially upheld by the rocks, was being battered and dashed in the most fearful way, so that no living being could long escape either being drawn down to a watery death, or battered out of all human form upon the cruel jagged rocks. At first a shriek and a cry of human anguish would rend the silence for a moment, and then sink again. But now many moments had passed and no such sound had been heard. Moments grew into minutes, and perhaps a quarter of an hour passed thus in watching the one light rising and falling as the vessel rose on the crests of the waves only to be dashed down again with renewed fury, whilst the rending of timbers and snapping of spars told a tale that was intelligible enough to the fierce men only a stone’s throw from the doomed vessel. At last they deemed they had waited long enough. From the very nature of the catastrophe, it was unlikely there would be many survivors. All who were below must have perished like rats in a trap, and the few on deck would quickly have been swept overboard. It was time the plundering began, else there might be little left to plunder. As it was, there would be peril in trying to rifle the hull; but these men knew what they were about, and producing their dark lanterns, they cautiously approached the floating mass, and after due precautions, scrambled one after another upon her, and commenced a rapid but cautious search.