Between her and the port lay the great flat reef on which so many good ships have from time to time suffered, and, with the wind blowing from its present direction, it would be quite impossible that this ship should find the entrance of the harbour.

It was now nearly the hour of high tide. The waves were still great, and the schooner, with all sails set, was rushing with such speed that, in the words of one old sailor, 'she must end up somewhere, if only in hell'. Then came another rush of sea-fog, greater than any hitherto, a mass of dank mist, which seemed to close on all things like a gray pall. The rays of the searchlight were kept fixed on the harbour mouth across the East Pier, where the crash was expected, and men waited breathlessly.

The wind suddenly shifted to the northeast, and the remnant of the sea fog melted in the blast. And then, amazing to say, between the piers, leaping from wave to wave as it rushed at headlong speed, swept the strange schooner as it gained the safety of the harbour. The searchlight followed her, and a shudder ran through all who saw her, for lashed to the helm was a corpse, with drooping head, which swung horribly to and fro at each motion of the ship. No-one else could be seen on the deck at all.

Vocabulary:

Reef: Rocks only just under the sea
Hitherto: Before this
Dank: Cold and damp
Pall: A cloth dead people are wrapped in
Remnant: The bit that remains
Headlong: Fast and out of control
Lashed: Tied to something
Helm: The steering wheel of a ship
To and fro: From side to side
Deck: The floor of a ship