the water, and the keel touched
the bottom and kept them from moving the boat any farther.

The next thing to be done was to bale out the enormous quantity of water
within, and there was no bucket or anything of the kind; but the
professor was equal to the occasion. There was a small box in the big
provision basket and the biscuit tin. These were emptied at once, and
the two sailors set to work baling, while, as soon as it was possible,
an attempt was made to get something serviceable out of the little
cabin.

The search was vain, but just then one of the sailors took out his
knife, left the biscuit tin with which he was baling, and going forward
thrust down his knife-armed hand, and cut free a good-sized cask which
was lashed there for the purpose of holding water.

This floated up directly, and when the man had got so far, he stood
holding on and looking at it.

Yussuf had seized the biscuit tin, and was baling so as to lose no time,
but the professor waded to the sailor, tossed the cask over, and
following it, dragged it out on to the sandy shore, where the sea-water
with which it was now filled ran gurgling out of the big bung-hole.

While it was emptying the professor walked some little distance to where
a few pieces of rock were lying, and securing one weighing about half a
hundredweight, he brought it back, set the cask up, and dashed in its
head.

This made a baling implement of wonderful power, as soon as it was
floated back and lifted into the boat. Certainly it took two men to use
it, but the professor called to Yussuf to give the baling tin back to
the Greek, and come to his side, and then Christian and Muslim set to
work, stripping to it and displaying energy that made the Greeks work
the harder in spite of the burning sun. For seizing the cask, as he
stood waist-deep, the professor depressed and sank it, and as soon as it
was full, he and Yussuf raised it between them till the edge was against
the low side of the boat, and then they tilted it, sending its contents
into the sea.

It was slow and terribly laborious work, but at the end of an hour the
amount they had discharged was something tremendous, and after a rest
for refreshment, the baling went on till, towards evening, the felucca
was afloat once more, and riding to a little anchor cast out upon the
shore.

There was still a great deal more water in her, but everyone was wearied
out, and the professor gave the word for a cessation of la