‘_Dead!_’ I cried. ‘Shot dead by Miss Temple’s hand, sir,’ he exclaimed. The girl let fall her arms from my neck, essayed to speak, struggled a little with her breath, and fell against me in a dead swoon. ‘Your coat, Wetherly,’ I shouted; ‘off with it, man, and make a pillow for the lady’s head. Quick! If the long-boat sculls ashore and the crew enter her before we can slip, we are both of us dead men.’ He instantly pulled off his jacket; and tenderly, but swiftly, I laid the girl down, first freeing the collar of her dress and no more, for there was time for no more. ‘Jump for the cabin lamp, Wetherly,’ I cried; ‘don’t stop to ask any questions. We must knock out a shackle, and let the chain go overboard. That is what is now to be done.’ He rushed off the poop, I in his wake. The lamp was dimly burning, but it enabled us to find what we wanted in the carpenter’s chest: and whilst I held the light to a shackle that was just forward of the windlass barrel, he let drive, and the cable went with a roar through the iron hawse-pipe. ‘We must now get the topsail on her and blow away,’ I cried. The conviction that the men would view him as my confederate and have his life if they got aboard, put an incredible activity into his limbs, which were habitually slow of motion. My having swum to the ship made his sailorly mind comprehend without a syllable of explanation from me how I had contrived the matter. We fled to where the topsail clewlines were belayed, and let them go, and then hand over hand dragged home the sheets, which, being of chain, travelled through the sheave-holes very readily. This done, I sped as fast as my feet would carry me to the poop, and finding the helm amidships, waited to see how the wind sat with regard to the position of the ship, meanwhile bawling at the top of my lungs to Wetherly to let go the maintopsail clewlines and bring the clews home as far as his strength would enable him. The light breeze was off the starboard quarter. I at once starboarded the helm, and, to my infinite delight, found the barque responsive to the turn of the spokes, proving that, snail-like as might be her progress, she at least had steerage way upon her. This brought the land upon the starboard beam. I then steadied the helm, quite sure that the craft would steer herself for a few minutes. As I ran forward I witnessed Miss Temple in the act of sitting upright. I sprang to her side and lifted her to her feet, and held her for perhaps a minute with her face upon my shoulder until she should have recovered her self. ‘Sit on this skylight,’ I exclaimed, ‘until you feel equal to assisting us, and then come to our help, for we greatly need you.’