of water, somewhere below. Now, the first thing is to move these
bales."

They worked for a time, and then Bill returned on deck to fetch two
more hands. They brought hand spikes and bars, as the bales were
wedged so tightly together that it was difficult, in the extreme,
to move them. It took two hours' hard work before they reached the
leak. As the captain had supposed, the head of one of the planks
had been started, at the stern post, by a blow from the wreck of
the mizzen; and the water was rushing in with great force.

"A few hours of this would have settled her," Bill said. "All the
pumps in the ship would not keep down such a leak as this."

Reuben at once set to work, cutting a deep groove in the stern
post. He butted some stout pieces of wood into this, and wedged the
other ends firmly against the first rib. Then he set to work to jam
down sail cloth and oakum between this barrier and the plank that
had started, driving it down with a marlinespike and mallet. It was
a long job, but it was securely done; and at last Reuben had the
satisfaction of seeing that a mere driblet of water was making its
way down, behind the stuffing, into the ship.

"That's a first-rate job, lad," Bill said approvingly. "Half an
hour's work once a week will keep her dry, if there is no water
finds its way in anywhere else."

Reuben went aft to the well. The pump was now working steadily, the
gangs of convicts relieving each other by turns. On sounding the
well, he found that the water had fallen nine inches since he had
last ascertained its depth. Going on deck, he found that a misty
light filled the air, and that morning was breaking.

The captain had two or three times come down to the hold, to watch
the progress of the work. Reuben reported to him its completion,
and the fall in the water.

"Yes, it's been falling the last hour," the captain said. "She will
do now. But she's making water, still. Some of the seams must have
opened. I have been looking her over, and can't find out where it
is; and we can do nothing until the gale has blown itself out, and
we can get below and shift the cargo."

Reuben found that the fore sail had been set while he was below;
and the vessel was running, some twelve knots an hour, before the
wind. At one moment she was in a deep valley, then her stern
mounted high on a following wave, and she seemed as if she must
slide down, head foremost. Higher and higher the wave rose, sending
her forwar