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Carpenter, lay down your adze and sound the well. The carpenter, who, notwithstanding the uneasiness of the dismasted vessel, was performing his important share of the work, immediately complied with the order. He drew up the rope-yarn, to which an iron rule had been suspended, and lowered down into the pump-well, and perceived that the water was dripping from it.
When dawn broke the greater part of the lee bulwarks had been torn away and our decks laid open to the sea, which washed in and out as it would have over a rock. The poor ship laboured dreadfully, and after consultation with Captain Scott we commenced to cut a hole in the engine room bulkhead to get at the hand pump-well.
Two more shells struck the wooden hull of the "Franklin" between the fore and mainmasts, tearing a great rent in her side and literally annihilating the crews of four guns. "There is three feet of water in the hold, sir and it is gaining!" shouted the carpenter at the pump-well. Men were sent at once to the pumps. Crash! This time a double explosion, followed by dense clouds of steam.
Sometimes he missed the food they held out and it dropped and was washed into the pump-well, but he ate what he could without moving his eyes. Since he must find the opening in the reef, much depended on his steering an accurate course, but this was difficult, because he had to bear away before the largest combers.
In such cases it is often feasible, by excavating a filtering sump or pump-well at a little distance from the side of the stream, and at a sufficient depth below the level of its bed to secure a supply tolerably purified by filtration through the intervening earth. The distance at which this sump should be placed from the bed of the stream will depend on the character of the soil.
I climbed through it, followed by Bowers, the carpenter, and Teddy Nelson, and when we got into the hold there was just enough room to wriggle along to the pump-well over the coal. We tore down a couple of planks to get access to the shaft and then I went down to the bottom to find out how matters stood.
Things now looked really serious, since it was impossible to get to the pump-well while terrific seas were washing over the ship and the afterhatch could not be opened. Consequently we started to bail the water out with buckets and also rigged the small fire-engine and pumped with this as well.
This, however, was not so formidable a matter as it at first sight appeared; for, the hold being tightly packed with cargo, the water could only get into the interstices, and a comparatively small quantity would consequently show a large rise in the pump-well. A strong gang was now sent on board the barque, with the chief-mate in command; and the pumps were at once manned.
The attention of both had at the same moment been arrested by something peculiar in the motion of the brig. "Sound the pumps," observed the skipper, apparently addressing the moon, which at that moment gleamed brightly forth from behind a heavy cloud. The mate took the sounding-rod, and, first of all drying it and the line carefully, dropped it down the pump-well.
Oswald looked at the compass in the binnacle spoke a few words to the man at the helm gave one or two terrible kicks in the ribs to some of the men who were caulking sounded the pump-well put a fresh quid of tobacco into his cheek, and then proceeded to examine the heavens above.
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