"Do," said Faith; and she turned and went below. Went below, and wept a
little for pity of old Noll, and then dried her eyes and strengthened
her heart for the task before her.... To bring Noll's ship safely
home....
* * * * *
It was mid-tide when the _Sally_ struck; and this was in some measure
fortunate, because the ebbing waters left her free of the rollers that
might have driven her hard and fast upon the sand. They broke against
her stern, but with no great force behind them. At the slack on the ebb,
the men could wade about her bows, to their waist in the water.... They
got the kedge out, astern, and carried a whale line about the capstan;
and when the tide came quietly in again, they waited for the flood, then
strove at the bars to warp her free....
When she did not stir, though the men strove till their veins were like
to burst, some cursed despairingly; but Faith did not. Nor Dan'l. Dan'l
was quiet, watching, smiling at his thoughts.... He let Faith have her
way. Before the next tide, they had rigged the cutting-in tackle to give
a stouter pull at the kedge; but this time the whale line parted and
lashed along the decks, and more than one man was struck and bruised and
cut by it....
Dan'l said then: "You see, we're here to stay. Best thing is to lower
and make for the nearest port."
"Leave the ship?" Faith asked.
"Yes. What else?"
"No. We'll not leave her."