hurt.

"This is terrible, Bill," Reuben said, as he went below.

"Ay, lad; I have been at sea, man and boy, over forty years, and
it's the worst sea I ever saw. I expect to see her masts go out of
her, before long. Nothing could stand such straining as this. You
had best turn in at once. Unless I am mistaken, it will be all
hands to the pumps, before long. If she hadn't been one of the
tightest crafts afloat, she would have been making water at every
seam, by this time."

Reuben felt, the instant he lay down, that sleep was out of the
question; for it needed all his strength to prevent himself from
being thrown out of his bunk. The noise, too, was terrific--the
rush and swell of the water overhead, the blows which made the ship
shiver from stem to stern, the creaking of the masts, and howling
of the wind. Night had set in, now. It was pitch dark in the
forecastle, for the swinging lantern had been dashed so violently
against the beams that the light was extinguished.

Half an hour after Reuben turned in, a crash was heard. A moment
later the door was opened, and there was a shout:

"The mizzen has gone! All hands to cut away the wreck!"

The watch turned out and began to make their way aft, and were soon
engaged with knife and hatchet in cutting away the wreck of the
mizzen which, towing behind, threatened, with each heavy following
sea, to plunge into the vessel's stern. A cheer broke from the men
as the last rope was cut, and the wreck floated astern. The mast
had gone close to the deck, smashing the bulwark as it fell over
the side. The motion of the ship was easier, for its loss.

"Mr. James," the captain shouted, "we must get preventer stays, at
once, upon the fore mast. The main mast may go, if it likes, and at
present we shall be all the better without it, but the foremast we
must keep, if we can."

"Ay, ay, sir. I will set about it, at once."

Picking out a few of the best hands, the first mate proceeded about
the work.

"Go and sound the well, Reuben," the captain said.

Reuben went off at once, and returned in two or three minutes.

"There are four feet of water in it, sir."

"Four feet! Are you sure?" the captain exclaimed.

"Quite sure, sir."

The captain handed over the command of the deck to the second
officer, and went below with Reuben. First wiping the rod
carefully, he sounded the well.

"You are right," he said. "It is three inches over the four feet. I
fear that the bumping of t