rpenter had been so busy with the rudder that he had not for some
time sounded the well. He now did so.

"Are we keeping the leaks under, Mr Chisel?" asked the commander, when
he came to make his report.

"No, sir, I am sorry to say we are not," he answered. "There are three
feet of water in the hold, and I fear, from the damages the ship has
received, that no power can keep her afloat much longer. If we cannot
repair them, you know, sir, that it won't be for want of our doing our
best."

"I am very sure of that, Mr Chisel, and hope that we may still overcome
the leaks, if the sea continues tolerably smooth," observed the
commander. "But we must not let the pumps be idle." He said this in a
cheerful tone, that those who overheard the carpenter's report might not
lose heart.

The ship was now standing out clear of the ice, and being thus more
exposed than before to the sea, which rolled in from the northward,
began to labour heavily. In a short time the carpenter again reported
that the water had gained another foot on the pumps in spite of the
incessant way they had been kept going. The commander now summoned the
superior officers round him, though what was said was not generally
known. The first-lieutenant instantly collecting a party of men, led
them between-decks, where, aided by some of the soldiers, they at once
set to work to heave overboard such heavy stores and provisions as could
be got at. Everything that had been received at the Cape was thrown
overboard. The purser was in despair. "Remember, Tobin," he observed,
"we have got all these mouths to feed. We may as well drown at first as
starve."

"You are right, purser," answered the first-lieutenant. "We will get up
what provisions we can, and place them on the upper deck. They will
soon be destroyed if they remain where they are."

At length the ship got clear of the ice, and now the crew were piped
below to snatch a hasty meal, those only required to work the rudder and
the pump gangs remaining on duty. Matters did not change much till the
sun went down in a bank of dark clouds, its rays casting a ruddy glow
across the western sky. As darkness came on, the wind increased, the
waters becoming covered with crests of foam, which danced and hissed
around the ship. No one could be ignorant of their dangerous position;
but in spite of it, most of the weary seamen and soldiers not actually
on duty turned into their berths to sleep. The offic