pe entangled and the pump-gang dragged him, unconscious,
to the top.

Afterwards, for the most part, Lister undertook the diving, but for long
his efforts to reach the floor of the engine-room were baffled. To crawl
across slanted gratings and down weedy ladders, while air-pipe and
signal-line trailed about the machinery, was horribly dangerous, but he
kept it up, although he got slacker and felt his pluck was breaking.
Then one afternoon he knew he could not go down again, and he stayed
under water long.

Brown, standing by the air-pumps, looked at his watch and waited
anxiously. The bubbles broke the surface above the wreck and the
signal-line was slack, but Lister had been down longer than he ought. He
wars not a diver, and the others who knew their job, had come up sooner.
Then Brown had other grounds for anxiety. If Lister were beaten, their
chance of floating the wreck was small.

At length, the bubbles began to move towards the hulk, the ladder shook,
and a dull, red reflection shone through the water. Then the copper
helmet broke the surface, rose a few inches, and stopped, and Brown ran
to the gangway. Lister was exhausted and his worn-out body could not
meet the change of pressure. They dragged him on board and took off his
helmet and canvas dress. For some minutes he lay like a log, and then
opened his eyes and looked at Brown.

"Cartwright was on the track!" he gasped. "We can go ahead--"

The sun was low, but the pitch in the seams was liquid and smeared the
hot planks, and Brown pulled Lister into the shade. For a time he was
quiet, but by and by he said, "When the tide falls we'll start the pump
and let her go all night. I must get up and tell Jones to clean the
fire."

"I'll tell him. You stay there until we get some food," Brown replied.

The cook served the meal on deck, but they had hardly begun when he
lighted a storm-lamp. As soon as the red sun dipped thick vapor floated
off from the swamps, the water got oily black, and dark clouds rolled
across the sky. Flickering lightning illumined the tumbling surf and
sandy beach, but there was no thunder and the night was calm. The hulk
and tug were moored at opposite sides of the wreck, forward of her
engine room, and thick wire ropes that ran between them had been dragged
back under the vessel for some distance from her bow. The ropes,
however, were not yet hauled tight. When the cook took away the plates
Brown made a rough calculation.

"We have