She had gone over
the edge of the reef, which rose on the starboard bow, high above the
water, and broke the force of the sea. Springing aft, I put down the
helm, which the man had deserted, and she rounded to under the lee of
the rocks.

"The crew instantly began lowering the boats. The skipper and his first
mate tumbled into one, and they with several of the men shoved off;
while the second mate took possession of the other, with the rest of the
crew, leaving Rip and me still on deck. So overcrowded were they, that
I saw they were both likely to go down; and I determined to take my
chance in the ship, which I thought, having a light cargo on board,
might possibly float long enough to enable us to build a raft. The two
boats quickly disappeared in the darkness, without provisions or water,
which the men in their hurry forgot to take, while the skipper and his
first mate were too drunk to think of it. I bethought me of examining
the boat amidships, which I feared might have been crushed by the
falling mast; but fortunately it had escaped. I told Rip to cut the
lashings clear, reminding him that our lives depended on it--to see that
not a rope remained attached to the vessel's deck. I jumped in,
followed by Rip and Snarley, who had been left on board with us, and
whose instinct showed him that the boat was likely to prove the only ark
of safety. The oars, as well as the masts and sails, were stowed in
her, with a couple of hen-coops, our last surviving pig, and a variety
of other articles. Rip was about to heave the pig overboard, when I
stopped him, and told him to hunt about for the plug-hole, which he had
just time to stop with a bung, when I saw the water rushing over the
deck. The ship did not go down immediately; and I suspect that, had all
hands remained on board, we might have kept her afloat until daylight,
at all events.

"We got out the oars to shove the boat clear the instant the water
rushed over the deck. I do not think I ever experienced a more anxious
moment in my life. At last a sea came sweeping along, round the reef,
and lifted us clear, right above the bulwarks, and free of the masts and
spars still hanging over the side. We pulled away for our lives, and
just saw the masts dragged down as the ship went to the bottom. The
mizzenmast remained the last above water. We pulled under the lee of
the reef; but, having no anchor, we were compelled to hold her in her
position by paddling all n