ce of
twine.

"But how shall we lift it over the side?" asked Stumps, becoming
suddenly alive to a difficulty.

"Help me to haul on this rope and you shall see," said Sam.

He ran to the side, lifted a coil of rope off its belaying-pin, threw it
on the deck, cut the rope clear, and hauled it to the raft, to one end
of which he made it fast.

It was the strong rope, by means of which one of the mizzen yards was
braced, and was rove through a block attached to the outward end of the
yard.

"Hoist away now--with a will!"

"Hold on," cried Slagg, stuffing a mass of sail-cloth violently, by
means of a hand-spike, underneath the binding rope of the raft.

"There now--yo ho! heave ho-o!"

Up went the end of the little ark of safety, and when one end was raised
very little force was required to push it over.

"Hold on! hold on! hold o-o-on!" yelled Stumps, straining to prevent the
raft from leaving the ship.

"No, no.--Let go! let go! let go-o-o!" roared Sam.

Stumps did let go and almost fell from the combined effect of his
efforts and despair, as the raft swung off, splashed into the sea far
out of reach, and hung half suspended from the yard-arm.

"It's all up with us," gasped Stumps.

"Not yet, but it will be all up with us in two minutes," returned Sam,
unable to repress a smile even at that moment.

"What d'ye mean?" said Stumps in amazement. "How can we ever git at it
_now_?"

"Why, stoopid," said Slagg, "don't you see that we've only to go up the
mast, out on the yard-arm, and slip down the rope."

While he was speaking, Robin, by Sam's orders, was performing the feat
referred to.

"Look sharp!" he cried, turning to the others.

A heavy lurch of the ship caused their breasts to leap almost as fast as
their bodies, for they were all more or less aware of the danger of the
ship sinking before they could get clear of her. The darkness, too,
was, as we have said, increasing by that time, though it was still light
enough to enable them to see what they were about.

In a few minutes they all had gained the end of the yard-arm, slipped
down the rope, and got upon the raft, but it was difficult to hold on,
because at each heave of the ship, the fore-end of the raft was raised
quite out of the sea, and then let fall with considerable violence. As
soon as Sam reached it, he bade Robin cut adrift with his axe, so great
was the heave; but at the moment the raft hung almost perpendicularly in
the air, an