nable him to gather the
drift of what had passed. "Shall us wait a bit longer, and chance the
hooker stayin' right side up till the sea do go down a bit more; or
shall us try to launch a boat? I don't doubt but what, if us watches
carefully and works quickly, we can get a boat afloat and unhooked; but
us couldn't get alongside the wrack to take her people off--they'd have
to jump overside and trust to we to pick mun up. Then how would us all
get out of the boat a'terwards and get mun hoisted up again? But it do
surely look to me as though we must do some'at pretty soon, because I
don't believe as that wrack'll last so very much longer. Look to mun,
how her do roll, and look how the sea do breach her! There must be tons
o' water a-pouring down into her hold every minute, and--Lard be
merciful--there a goeth. She be turnin' over now, as I'm a livin'--No,
no; 'tis all right; her be rightin' again, but Cap'n, her can't live
much longer to that rate."

"No," agreed George, who, like Dyer, had been breathlessly watching the
outrageous antics of the waterlogged craft, and had seen how very nearly
she had come to capsizing as the sea flung her up and hove her over on
her beam ends--"I'm afraid she cannot. As you say, something must be
done if we are to save those poor wretches; but the only thing that I
can think of is to at least make the attempt to launch a boat. We will
get to windward of the wreck, and then, everything having been
previously made ready, we will lower a boat and--if we can get away
without being stove--run down to the wreck in the `smooth' of the
_Nonsuch's_ lee; get under the lee of the wreck; and her people must
jump overboard, two or three at a time, and trust to us to pick them up.
I will take command of the boat, and as soon as you see us safely under
the lee of the wreck you must fill and keep away, pass to leeward of the
wreck, and heave-to as close to her as you can, when we will come round
under your lee and get the people aboard one at a time by means of a
`whip' from the lee mainyard-arm, trusting to luck for the chance to get
the boat aboard again without smashing her to staves. Now try her
about, Dyer; I think we ought to be able to fetch well to windward of
her now. And I believe the starboard quarter boat will be the easiest
to lower and unhook."

CHAPTER SEVEN.

HOW THEY CAME TO SAN JUAN DE ULUA.

Having explained to Dyer his proposed scheme of operations, George left
to t