recovered to take part in the discussion, he suggested that
perhaps she might be got off.

"You wouldn't say that, sir, if you had been forward when she struck,"
answered Jerry. "She is entirely stove in, and must have twelve or
fourteen feet of water in her by this time. It will be a hard job
before long to get any provisions."

"Then the sooner we set about it the better," said Tom, "if we can
manage to find our way in the dark."

"De lamp in de cabin is still 'light--me get him," said Peter, who soon
returned, carefully shading the lamp, when he, Jerry, and Tim made their
way below, hoping to reach the fore hold, where the bulk of the
provisions were stowed. They were, however, very soon convinced that it
would be utterly impossible to get up anything until the tide had
fallen, as the sea was rushing in at the bows, and completely flooding
the hold.

"Then we must try what we can do at daylight, for at present it would be
useless to attempt getting anything up. We will see, however, what is
to be found in the afterpart of the ship."

Peter recollected that there were some eases of biscuits and other
articles, which it was necessary to keep dry. His report encouraged Tom
to hope that they should not starve.

"Now, my lads, the first thing we have to do is to collect all the spars
and loose plank we can get hold of, to form a raft. We are likely to
find land either on one side or the other, perhaps not far off, though
we are unable to see it now, and we must manage to reach it and carry
provisions for our support, as we are not likely to find much more than
cocoa-nuts and fish. One satisfactory thing is that the people
hereabouts are not cannibals, and are generally disposed to be friendly
to white men, so that if the island we may reach is inhabited we are not
likely to be ill-treated."

Tom by these remarks and by keeping up his own spirits, prevented his
companions from losing theirs. Even the doctor began to hope that they
might escape. All hands now set to work to collect materials for the
raft as far as could be done in the dark, and to drag them up to the
weather side of the quarter-deck, where there was not much risk of their
being carried away. Altogether they managed to secure a number of spars
and pieces of the bulwarks and a good supply of rope of various sizes.
The cabin bulk-heads with other portions of the vessel which could
easily be torn away would give them wood enough to make a raf