rifting of the rock, nothing could bring deliverance now.
But the wind did not veer, and in a few minutes more the schooner
was hardly three cables' distance from the fatal land.
All were aware that their last moment had arrived.
Servadac and the count grasped each other's hands for a long farewell;
and, tossed by the tremendous waves, the schooner was on the very point
of being hurled upon the cliff, when a ringing shout was heard.
"Quick, boys, quick! Hoist the jib, and right the tiller!"

Sudden and startling as the unexpected orders were, they were executed
as if by magic.

The lieutenant, who had shouted from the bow, rushed astern and took the helm,
and before anyone had time to speculate upon the object of his maneuvers,
he shouted again, "Look out! sharp! watch the sheets!"

An involuntary cry broke forth from all on board.
But it was no cry of terror. Right ahead was a narrow
opening in the solid rock; it was hardly forty feet wide.
Whether it was a passage or no, it mattered little;
it was at least a refuge; and, driven by wind and wave,
the _Dobryna_, under the dexterous guidance of the lieutenant,
dashed in between its perpendicular walls.

Had she not immured herself in a perpetual prison?



CHAPTER XIII