The waves were too high！

The waves were too high！ ‘ Two ships have gone down， sir！’ a local fisherman shouted to me．‘ A few miles away！ We couldn't save any of the men on them！ The waves were too high！ And look！ There's another！’

And suddenly I gasped in horror． I could see a great ship，which had been pushed violently on to the rocks by the waves．It was in danger of falling back into the waves， or of breaking in half， at any moment. Several figures were visible on the ship ， especially one very active， curly-haired young man， who seemed to be giving orders． The crowd on the beach cried out as the ship rolled and a huge wave swept over it， carrying the men into the rushing water．In a moment the only figure we could see was the curly-haired young man， holding desperately on to the side of the ship and calling for help． What could we do ？ It was certain death for any man to enter those waves．

Just then I saw Ham Peggotty running through the crowd to the edge of tM water． One whoever end of a rope was tied around his waist， and the other end was held firmly be three strong men standing on the beach．