o way of saving the ship?" asked Bob of the captain as
he stood, calm, yet stern, on the quarter-deck.

"No. Her bows are stove in and the foremast has pounded a big hole
in her quarter. The _Eagle_ is doomed. There must be an uncharted
reef about here, or else we were blown off our course."

"Boats are all ready, sir," reported a sailor, running up.

"Very well, tell the men to get in. Mr. Carr will be in command of
one boat, Mr. Bender the other, and I will go in my gig. Bob, you
and Mr. Tarbill will go with me. Pull well away from the wreck,
men, and lay to until we are all together. Then we'll try to get
our bearings."

It was getting lighter now, but the storm showed no signs of
abating. The _Eagle_ was fairly impaled on a sharp point of the
sunken reef and was immovable, but the waves were dashing high over
the bows.

Suddenly the ship gave a shudder and seemed as if about to tear
herself loose, ready to sink beneath the billows.

"Lively, men!" exclaimed the captain. "She'll not last much
longer!"

The orders were given to lower the boats. Bob went forward to
watch the work, holding on by stray cables that dangled from the
wrecked masts.

As the boat of which Mr. Bender was to take charge was being
lowered, one of the ropes in the davit pulley, that at the bow,
fouled, and, as the sailors at the other davit were letting their
line run free, the boat tilted. There was imminent risk of the
oars, sail, and mast, besides the supplies, being spilled out. Bob
saw the danger and sprang forward with a shout, intending to lend a
hand.

As he did so a big piece of one of the yards of the broken mizzen
mast which had been hanging by splinters was whipped loose by a
gust of wind and fell almost at his feet, missing him by a small
margin. Had it struck him squarely it would have killed him.

Bob only hesitated an instant, though the narrow escape gave him a
faint feeling in his stomach. Then, before he could make the
sailors understand what the trouble was, he grabbed the rope that
was running free and, taking a turn about a cleat, prevented the
further lowering of the boat.

"Good!" shouted Second-Mate Bender, who had seen what had taken
place. "You saved the boat, Bob. In another second all the stuff
would have been afloat. Lively now, men. Straighten out that line
and lower away. She's settling fast."

In the meanwhile Mr. Carr had succeeded in lowering his boat, and
he and his men were