[14] Nickname for the cooper.
CHAPTER XI
"A SEA FIGHT UNDER THE STARS"
By midnight both wind and sea had dropped considerably. At one bell the castaways saw the schooner's fore-topmast staysail rise slowly as her crew manned the halliards, and a second later her mainsail raised its head.
Jack gave a quick look round, and then said sharply,
"In with that sea-anchor, boys; it's time we were flitting."
In a moment the inaction on the whaleboat turned to a keen, nervous energy.
Hand over hand the oars were hauled alongside, and the sea-anchor got in over the bows; then away they went to windward.
The boat lay over to it, heavily pressed under a close-reefed lugsail, wallowing, splashing, crashing into the seas.