With caution the boys climbed to the stern of the steam yacht, and there found the water in one place to be two and a half feet deep. They looked at it carefully and threw the searchlight on all sides, but could not bring themselves to believe that the water was becoming perceptibly higher.
“Do you know what I think?” said Jack, at last. “I think the only opening is at the bow, and the only water that’s coming in now is what we’re shipping from the rolling of the waves.”
“Then what makes the vessel sink at the stern?” questioned Fred. “Why didn’t she sink at the bow and go down?”
“I can’t answer that question, Fred. Maybe they shifted some of the cargo in an endeavor to get the hole up above the water line. Anyway, that’s how the thing is now, and I believe if we could get that hole closed in some way, she’d float for a long time. I’m going to ask Small about it; he knows more about ships than we do.”
The boys reported to Andy and the lanky sailor. Ira Small was greatly interested, and said it was quite possible that the only hole might be at the bow.
“Of course, the shock may have started a few of the seams below the water line,” he said. “But mebby that water comin’ in could be taken care of by the engine, or even the hand pumps. Anyway, it don’t look to me like she’d go down in a hurry. But I think we ought to try and close that there hole in the bow. It didn’t look to be more’n four or five feet an’ we kin easy cover that with a couple o’ tarpaulins, tyin’ ’em fast inside as well as out. You boys jest help me around a bit, an’ I’ll show you how it kin be done.”
The next couple of hours were busy ones for all on board the water-logged steam yacht. Even though his ankle hurt him considerably, Andy insisted on helping drag forward some heavy tarpaulins which were found stowed away on the vessel. When it came to adjusting the necessary ropes, Ira Small performed his share of the task. And so between all of them, two tarpaulins, one on top of the other, were lashed fast over the smashed-open bow of the vessel. Then Ira Small insisted upon going down in the forward hold to show the boys how the inner tarpaulin could be fastened so that little or no water could enter.
“Course it’s only a makeshift,” explained the lanky sailor. “But I’ve knowed sech a makeshift to last a long while. Now if we kin shift some o’ that cargo, mebby we kin git her on more or less of an even keel.”
“What about the water?” questioned Randy.
“Oh, we won’t touch that at present, lad. Let it stay in the stern. It’ll keep the bow up high, and that’s jest what we want. We’ll shut the door to the stern hold, so the water won’t run for’ard if the yacht begins to pitch.”