As I was getting terribly puzzled and fussed up by what I thought was the strange action of the compass, and by the way the little spiteful gusts of wind seemed to come from every quarter at once, the skipper came on deck.

Before he had cleared the companion-way he asked, "'How does Hatteras Light bear ?' "'Dead ahead, sir,' said I.
"As he stepped on deck he turned to look at it, and I saw him start as though he saw something awful.

He looked for half a minute, and then in a half-choked sort of voice he gasped out, 'The Death-Light!' "At the same moment the light, that I had took to be Hatteras, rolled slowly, like a ball of fire, along the jib-top-sail stay to the top-mast head, and then I knew it was a St.Elmo's fire, a thing I'd heard of but never seen before.
"As we all looked at it, afraid almost to say a word, there came a sound like a moan over the sea, and in another minute a cyclone, such as I hope never to see again, laid us, first on our beam ends, and then drove us at a fearful rate directly towards the coast.
"We drove this way for an hour or more, unable to do a thing to help ourselves, and then she struck on Hatteras sands.

Her masts went as she struck, and as they fell a huge sea, rushing over the poor craft, swept overboard the captain and two men.

It was some time before we knew they were gone, for we could see nothing nor hear anything but the howl of the tempest.
"At last we got rid of the floating wreck of spars by clearing the tangled rigging with our knives, and, thus relieved, the schooner was driven a good bit farther over the sands.