the time he reached Captain Staunton's side the mind of the latter
was made up.

"It is no good, Bowles," he said; "she will do nothing; we must part
with the main-mast also. Cut it away at once, and let us get her upon
an even keel again if we can."

Mr Bowles hurried forward, and as soon as he became visible to the men
clustered about the main-rigging he made a sign to them to cut. The
axes gleamed in the darkened air, a few rapid strokes were struck upon
the lanyards of the rigging, and the main-mast bowed, crashed off at
about ten feet from the deck, and was carried by the wind clear of the
lee rail into the sea.

Another shock, almost as if the ship had struck something, accompanied
the fall of the main-mast, and then, laboriously at first but finally
with an almost sudden jerk, the _Galatea_ swung upright, and, paying off
at the same time, began to draw through the water, her speed increasing
to some seven knots when she got fairly away before the wind, and was
relieved of the wreckage towing alongside.

The well was sounded, and to everybody's intense relief some six inches
only of water was found in the hold. The pumps were rigged, manned, and
set to work, and the water was so speedily got rid of as to show that it
had penetrated only through some portion of the upper works.

The first mad fury of the hurricane was by this time over, but it still
blew far too heavily to admit of any other course than running dead
before it. The sea, which had hitherto been a level plane of fleecy
white foam, now showed symptoms of rising, and the aspect of the sky was
still such as to force upon the voyagers the conclusion that they were
not yet by any means out of danger. What _could_ be done, however,
_was_ done; and the entire crew were set to work, some to get up
preventer back-stays and secure the fore-mast, and others to convert the
spare spars into jury-masts.

The passengers, meanwhile, had made their way down into the saloon
directly the ship recovered herself, where they found Lance Evelin pale,
dazed, and barely conscious, bleeding from a very ugly wound in the
temple caused by his having fallen heavily against the brass-bound edge
of one of the saloon stairs. Mrs Staunton was doing her best single-
handed to staunch the blood and bind up the wound, with little May on
her knees beside the patient, sobbing as though her tender child's heart
would break, for Lance had taken greatly to the sweet little creatu