Between the ship and the port was a great flat reef. Many good ships have been wrecked here over the years. With the wind blowing from its present direction, it was quite impossible for this ship to reach the entrance to the harbour.

It was now nearly the hour of high tide. The waves were very high, and the schooner, with all sails set, was rushing in at a great speed. As one old sailor said, 'She must end up somewhere, if only in hell'. Then the sea-fog came again, even more than before. The mass of dank cloud seemed to cover everything like a gray blanket. The searchlight was kept fixed on the harbour mouth across the East Pier, where the ship was expected to crash. Everybody waited, holding their breath.

The wind suddenly shifted to the northeast, and the sea-fog melted away as it blew. And then people saw something amazing. Between the piers, leaping from wave to wave as it rushed at headlong speed, came the strange schooner. It quickly reached the safety of the harbour, and the searchlight followed it in. Everyone who saw this shuddered, because lashed to the ship's wheel was a corpse. The head hung low and swung horribly from side to side as the ship moved. No-one else at all could be seen on the deck.

Vocabulary:

Reef: Rocks only just under the sea
Wrecked: Too damaged for repair
High tide: The furthest the sea goes up the beach
Rushing: Going fast and carelessly
Fog: Very thick mist
Dank: Cold and damp
Melt: When something solid turns to liquid
Headlong: Fast and out of control
Lashed: Tied to something
Corpse: A dead body
Deck: The floor of a ship