ix hundredweight
apiece, we had over the side, the men working now fiercely, and with
something like hope in their breasts; and then I roared to them to hold
fast the tarpaulin was pulled over, and I for one threw myself upon it,
just as a wave came rolling along, leaped the bows, and dashed us here
and there.

But we found to our great joy that hardly a drop had gone below, the
weight of the water having flattened down the tarpaulin; so seizing the
tackle once more, we soon had another pillar over the side, and another,
and another--not easily, for it was a hard fight each time; and more
than once men were nearly crushed to death. It was terrible work, too,
casting them loose amidst the hurry and strife of the tempest; but we
kept on, till, utterly worn out and panting, we called on Mr Vallance
to come up, when we once more securely battened down the hatch and
waited for the morning.

We agreed amongst ourselves that the ship did not roll so much; and
perhaps she was a little easier, for we had sent some tons overboard;
but the difference was very little; and morning found us all numbed with
the cold, and helpless to a degree. I caught Mr Vallance's eye, and
signalled to him that we should go on again; but it required all we
could do to get the men to work, one and all saying that it was useless,
and only fighting against our fate.

Seeing that fair words wouldn't do, I got the tackle ready myself, and
then with the marlinespike in one hand, I went up to the first poor
shivering fellow I came to, and half-led, half-dragged him to his place;
Mr Vallance followed suit with another; and one way and another we got
them to work again; and though not so quickly as we did the day before,
we sent over the side tons and tons of that solid iron--each pillar on
being cut loose darting over the bulwark with a crash, and tearing no
end of the planking away, but easing the vessel, so that now we could
feel the difference; and towards night, though the weather was bad as
ever, I began to feel that we might have a chance; for the ship seemed
to ride over the waves more, instead of dipping under them, and
shuddering from stem to stern. We'd been fortunate, too, in keeping the
water from getting into the hold; and one way and another, what with the
feeling of duty done, and the excitement, things did not look so black
as before; when all at once a great wave like a green mountain of water
leaped aboard over the poop, flooded the d