Sometimes the swell broke clean over us ; sometimes it only ground the poor brig upon the reef , so that we could hear her beat herself to pieces ; and what with the great noise of the sails , and the singing of the wind , and the flying of the spray in the moonlight , and the sense of danger , I think my head must have been partly turned , for I could scarcely understand the things I saw . Presently I observed Mr. Riach and the seamen busy round the skiff , and , still in the same blank , ran over to assist them ; and as soon as I set my hand to work , my mind came clear again . It was no very easy task , for the skiff lay amidships and was full of hamper , and the breaking of the heavier seas continually forced us to give over and hold on ; but we all wrought like horses while we could . Meanwhile such of the wounded as could move came clambering out of the fore-scuttle and began to help ; while the rest that lay helpless in their bunks harrowed me with screaming and begging to be saved . The captain took no part . It seemed he was struck stupid . He stood holding by the shrouds , talking to himself and groaning out aloud whenever the ship hammered on the rock . His brig was like wife and child to him ; he had looked on , day by day , at the mishandling of poor Ransome ; but when it came to the brig , he seemed to suffer along with her . All the time of our working at the boat , I remember only one other thing : that I asked Alan , looking across at the shore , what country it was ; and he answered , it was the worst possible for him , for it was a land of the Campbells . We had one of the wounded men told off to keep a watch upon the seas and cry us warning . Well , we had the boat about ready to be launched , when this man sang out pretty shrill : `` For God 's sake , hold on ! '' We knew by his tone that it was something more than ordinary ; and sure enough , there followed a sea so huge that it lifted the brig right up and canted her over on her beam . Whether the cry came too late , or my hold was too weak , I know not ; but at the sudden tilting of the ship I was cast clean over the bulwarks into the sea . I went down , and drank my fill , and then came up , and got a blink of the moon , and then down again . They say a man sinks a third time for good . I can not be made like other folk , then ; for I would not like to write how often I went down , or how often I came up again . All the while , I was being hurled along , and beaten upon and choked , and then swallowed whole ; and the thing was so distracting to my wits , that I was neither sorry nor afraid . Presently , I found I was holding to a spar , which helped me somewhat . And then all of a sudden I was in quiet water , and began to come to myself . It was the spare yard I had got hold of , and I was amazed to see how far I had travelled from the brig. I hailed her , indeed ; but it was plain she was already out of cry .
She was still holding together ; but whether or not they had yet XXXXX the boat , I was too far off and too low down to see .
answered asked broke hold know launched made remember saw took