"Only--four--men--on--board--so--cannot--send--boat--Will--stand--by-- and--take--you--off--if--possible." By the time that the last word of this communication had been written and acknowledged we were some distance to leeward of the wreck, and it became necessary to fill upon the ship once more. This done, the next matter for determination was the means whereby we were to get the people away from the wreck, and safe on board the barque--a problem which, had we been fully manned, would have proved sufficiently puzzling; while, circumstanced as we were, it seemed all but impossible. At length, however, I hit upon a scheme that I thought might be worth trying; and we proceeded forthwith to put it into practical shape without more ado, since the unfortunate people on the wreck were in a perilously exposed situation, and evidently in such a terribly exhausted state that they might relax their hold, and be washed away at any moment. There were, as I have already mentioned, nine men to be rescued. Now, the _Esmeralda_ having been, ever since she was launched, a passenger-ship, was well found in life-saving appliances, life-buoys among the number, of which we carried no less than twelve; eight being stowed away in one of the cutters on the gallows, while the remainder were distributed about the poop, ready for immediate use. The first thing done was to get up on deck two good stout warps, and bend them end to end, so that we might have plenty of length to work with; and the inner end of this long line was then made fast inboard at the fore-rigging. To the other end nine life-buoys were next securely bent, in the form of a chain, with a length of about a fathom between the buoys; and, finally, a long light heaving-line was bent on to the extreme outer end of the warp. The warp was then carefully coiled down on deck, ready for paying out; the buoys piled on the top of it; and the spare part of the heaving-line carried out to the flying-jib-boom end, where it was snugly coiled and stopped, ready for use. Our preparations were now complete; and, having meanwhile been plying to windward, the helm was put up, and we wore round to return to the wreck. This operation provided work for us all, including Sir Edgar; and when at length we got the ship round upon the starboard tack we found, to our extreme vexation, that the circle we had made was so large that we should be unable to fetch the wreck. This was terribly annoying at a time when every minute lost might mean a human life; but we could do nothing to rectify the matter except stand on far enough upon the new tack to insure that when we next wore we should not again under-shoot our mark. And if it was vexatious for us, what must it have been for the poor fellows who, standing as it were within the very jaws of death, were anxiously watching our every movement?