Suiting the action to the word, Jack gave forth, at the top of his
voice, one or two of those peculiarly nautical howls wherewith seamen
are wont to constrain windlasses and capstans to creak, and anchors to
let go their hold.

"Now then, heave away, my hearties; yo-heave-o-hoi!"

At the last word we both strained with all our might. I heard Jack's
braces burst with the effort. We both became purple in the face, but
the leg remained immovable! With a loud simultaneous sigh we relaxed,
and, looking at each other, groaned slightly.

"Come, come, Bob, never say die; one trial more; it was the braces that
spoiled it that time. Now then, cheerily ho! my hearties,
heave-yo-hee-o-HOY!"

The united force applied this time was so great that we tore asunder all
the fastenings of the leg at one wrench, and Jack and I suddenly shot
straight up, as if we had been discharged from a hole in the ground.
Losing our balance we fell over each other on our backs--the wooden leg
remaining hard and fast in the ground.

"Ah! Jack," said I sorrowfully, as I rubbed the mud off my garments,
"if we had remained at home this would not have happened."

"If we had remained at home," returned Jack, rather gruffly, as he
hopped towards his leg, "_nothing_ would have happened. Come, Bob, lay
hold of it. Out it shall come, if the inside of the world should come
along with it. There now--_heave_!"

This time we gave vent to no shout, but we hove with such a will, that
Jack split his jacket from the waist to the neck, and the leg came out
with a crack that resembled the drawing of the largest possible cork out
of the biggest conceivable bottle.

Having accomplished this feat we congratulated each other, and then sat
down to repair damages. This was not an easy matter. It cost us no
little thought to invent some contrivance that would prevent the leg
from sinking, but at last we thought of a plan. We cut a square piece
of bark off a tree, the outer rind of which was peculiarly tough and
thick. In the centre of this we scooped a hole and inserted therein the
end of the leg, fastening it thereto with pieces of twine that we
chanced to have in our pockets. Thus we made, as it were, an artificial
foot, which when Jack tried it served its purpose admirably--indeed, it
acted too well, for being a broad base it did not permit the wooden leg
to sink at all, while the natural leg did sink more or less, and, as the
wooden limb had no knee,