s that were available in the emergency were
utilized. Consequently much soft wood, that at other times would never
have been found in the state dockyards, was put into her. The beam at
which they were working was of soft timber, and a fine dust fell
steadily, as the rough iron was sawed backward and forward upon it.

Two cuts were made under each bolt, wide at the base and converging
towards it. The saws were kept going the whole day, and although the
progress was slow, it was fast enough to encourage them; and just as
the light, that came through the scuttle, faded away; three of the
young men hung their weight upon one of the bolts, and the wood beneath
it, already almost severed, gave; and a suppressed cry of satisfaction
announced that one bolt was free.

The pieces of iron were two feet long, and were intended for some other
purpose, but had been driven in when, on loading the ship, some strong
pegs on which to hang carcasses were required. They were driven about
three inches into the beam, and could have been cut out with an
ordinary saw in two or three minutes.

"Try the others," Francis said. "As many of you get hold of them as can
put your hands on."

The effort was made, and the other two bolts were got out. They had
been roughly sharpened at the end, and were fully an inch across.

"They do not make bad weapons," Matteo said.

"It is not as weapons that we want them, Matteo. They will be more
useful to us than any weapons, except, indeed, a good axe. We shall
want at least three more. Therefore, I propose that we continue our
work at once. We will divide into watches now. It will be twelve hours
before we get our allowance of bread again, therefore that will give
three hours' work, and nine hours' sleep to each. They will be just
setting the first watch on deck, and, as we shall hear them changed, it
will give us a good idea how the time is passing."

"I am ready to work all night, myself," Matteo said. "At first I had
not much faith in what we were doing; but now that we have got three of
these irons out, I am ready to go on working until I drop."

"You will find, Matteo, that your arms will ache, so that you cannot
hold them up, before the end of the three hours. Sawing like that, with
your arms above your head, is most fatiguing; and even the short spells
of work we have been having made my arms ache. However, each must do as
much as he can in his three hours; and as we are working in the dark,
we