oked piece of Devon oak from out of Dartmoor Forest!"

Shortly afterwards he had set the carpenter and his mates to strip off
the copper sheathing, while he led off Joe Cross and another man about a
quarter of a mile away from the river bank to where a huge pollard-like
tree was growing at the edge of the forest, all gnarled and twisted in
the most extraordinary way.

The two lads had followed them, and Rodd looked at the selected tree
aghast.

"Why, you are never going to set the men to cut down that tree,
captain?" he cried.

"Why not, my lad? Do you know a better bit?"

"Better bit!" cried Rodd. "Why, the men can hardly get through that
with those axes. Most likely take them a fortnight--I might say a
month."

"Ah, well, I don't want it all. I am not going to load up the brig with
a cargo of timber. I only want that big dwarf branch from low down
there where it starts from close to the root; and you will mind and get
that big elbow-like piece as long as you can, Joe Cross."

"Ay, ay, sir! Just you mark out what you want, and we'll cut accordin'.
Better take all the top off first, hadn't us?"

"Why, of course, my lad. One of you use the saw while the other works
away with an axe. You quite understand?"

"Ay, ay, sir; me and my mate has seen a ship's knee afore now;" and
rolling up their sleeves, they soon made the place echo with the blows
of the axe, while the rasping harsh sound of the saw seemed to excite a
flock of beautifully-plumaged parrots, which began to circle round the
head of the tree, before finally settling amongst the branches uttering
their sharp screeching cries, and giving vent to croaking barks, as if
resenting this attack upon their domain.

The carpenter and his men were meanwhile hard at work at the copper
sheathing, making such progress that they were busy with their saws,
dividing plank and trenail and working their way round the hole by the
time the tide had risen sufficiently to drive them back, and then the
Count and his party grouped themselves as best they could about their
old quarters, looking despondently at what seemed like the beginning of
a very hopeless wreck, a good deal of confidence being needed on their
part to feel that all would come right in the end.

Fortunately the tide during the next two or three days did not rise so
high, and good progress was made, while, thanks to the way in which the
French crew had worked, the damage done by the water as it flowe