She shivered and swerved from frequent contact with submerged rocks, but held her course with uncanny steadiness, while every soul on board gazed with stark, despairing eyes at the land which mocked them as they passed.

Far on ahead loomed the lofty hills, and beyond them lay--What?
The ocean?
Gradually the passage widened.

Its depth also increased.

The ship no longer scraped the bottom, she no longer caromed off the sunken rocks.
On the other hand, water poured into her interior with increasing force and volume, indicating a disastrous rent forward.

She was sloshing along toward the centre of a basin which appeared to be half a mile wide and not more than a mile long.