Sentence:  Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's rail, close to the stern. Then, for a jiffy, I <WSD>hung on</WSD> and fought for breath. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To hold, grasp, or grip.