FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97  
98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   >>   >|  
ce of twine. "But how shall we lift it over the side?" asked Stumps, becoming suddenly alive to a difficulty. "Help me to haul on this rope and you shall see," said Sam. He ran to the side, lifted a coil of rope off its belaying-pin, threw it on the deck, cut the rope clear, and hauled it to the raft, to one end of which he made it fast. It was the strong rope, by means of which one of the mizzen yards was braced, and was rove through a block attached to the outward end of the yard. "Hoist away now--with a will!" "Hold on," cried Slagg, stuffing a mass of sail-cloth violently, by means of a hand-spike, underneath the binding rope of the raft. "There now--yo ho! heave ho-o!" Up went the end of the little ark of safety, and when one end was raised very little force was required to push it over. "Hold on! hold on! hold o-o-on!" yelled Stumps, straining to prevent the raft from leaving the ship. "No, no.--Let go! let go! let go-o-o!" roared Sam. Stumps did let go and almost fell from the combined effect of his efforts and despair, as the raft swung off, splashed into the sea far out of reach, and hung half suspended from the yard-arm. "It's all up with us," gasped Stumps. "Not yet, but it will be all up with us in two minutes," returned Sam, unable to repress a smile even at that moment. "What d'ye mean?" said Stumps in amazement. "How can we ever git at it _now_?" "Why, stoopid," said Slagg, "don't you see that we've only to go up the mast, out on the yard-arm, and slip down the rope." While he was speaking, Robin, by Sam's orders, was performing the feat referred to. "Look sharp!" he cried, turning to the others. A heavy lurch of the ship caused their breasts to leap almost as fast as their bodies, for they were all more or less aware of the danger of the ship sinking before they could get clear of her. The darkness, too, was, as we have said, increasing by that time, though it was still light enough to enable them to see what they were about. In a few minutes they all had gained the end of the yard-arm, slipped down the rope, and got upon the raft, but it was difficult to hold on, because at each heave of the ship, the fore-end of the raft was raised quite out of the sea, and then let fall with considerable violence. As soon as Sam reached it, he bade Robin cut adrift with his axe, so great was the heave; but at the moment the raft hung almost perpendicularly in the air, an
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97  
98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Stumps

 
moment
 
raised
 

minutes

 

caused

 

turning

 

breasts

 

stoopid

 
amazement
 

orders


performing
 
referred
 

speaking

 

bodies

 

difficult

 

gained

 

slipped

 
considerable
 

violence

 

perpendicularly


adrift

 
reached
 
sinking
 

danger

 

darkness

 

enable

 
increasing
 

attached

 

outward

 

mizzen


braced

 

stuffing

 

underneath

 

binding

 

violently

 

strong

 

difficulty

 

hauled

 
belaying
 

lifted


suddenly

 

suspended

 

splashed

 
efforts
 
despair
 
gasped
 

repress

 

unable

 

returned

 

effect