He, it appeared,
had been cast ashore by a heavy swell, but there were others beside him
who were still in danger.
"'Could you manage, sir, to stand against the wind, perhaps you could
carry this coil of rope; they may be wanting it,' said the woman. In
another minute your grandfather was battling against the storm, making
his way along the rugged shore in the direction of a small group of men
who proved to be his host, with a younger brother and the two men who
had manned the boat in which he had himself come to the island.
"It was a fearful sight. The sea was in a white foam, the whole air
filled with spray, and the wind blowing heavily. Not far from shore was
a boat with a part of the exhausted crew from a vessel wrecked in the
offing. The breakers made it impossible that the poor fellows should
effect a landing. A terrible death seemed their inevitable fate. Just at
the moment your grandfather reached the point, he saw his host leap into
the sea, his object being to give the men a rope. It was at the peril of
his life he took that desperate leap.
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