with the axes."

The order was obeyed. The ship for a moment rode head to wind. At the
same instant the men, with gleaming axes in their hands, were seen
cutting away at the masts.

Tom led his young friends under shelter of the poop deck.

Down came the masts with a crash. Not a hundred fathoms astern the sea
in wild masses was breaking furiously. The next instant the anchor
parted; another was let go, but it scarcely held for a moment; and then
the ship drove broadside into the midst of the wild, raging tumult of
waters. Now she rose for a moment on the summit of a huge wave, now
borne onwards she sank into a hollow between the waves. The next sea
swept her decks, carrying many of the hapless crew overboard, and
washing away the caboose and a large portion of the bulwarks.

By Tom's advice Harry and Bass clung to a stanchion near which they had
taken their post. Tom held on to another near them.

Another sea struck the devoted ship, and threw her with tremendous force
on the coral rocks, crushing in her bottom and sides. Others of the
crew were carried off as the seas continued to strike her. Now portions
of her bows, now the remainder of her bulwarks, were swept away, while
on each occasion the fearful crashing and rending of timbers showed that
she was rapidly breaking up.

"What had we best do?" asked Bass.

"Hold on to the last," answered Harry; "perhaps the gale may abate, and
we may yet reach the shore."

There seemed, however, but little hope of their doing this. Every
instant larger portions of the wreck were carried away. It was evident
that in a short time she would break up completely. Tom handed to each
of the boys a length of rope.

"Make yourselves fast to any piece of timber you can get hold of," he
said; "it will give you the best chance of safety."

Few of the people had by this time escaped, and every sea which broke
over the wreck carried one or more away.

At length another tremendous sea came rolling towards them. A fearful
crash followed. Harry and Bass found themselves floating together amid
the boiling waters, with pieces of wreck tossed to and fro near them, a
blow from which would have proved fatal, but not one struck them. Not
far off they caught sight of Tom clinging to a portion of the poop deck.
A sea carried them towards him. He hauled them up, and they made
themselves fast to some ring-bolts. Though the seas washed over them,
and they felt as if the breath