In the meantime, Phil and Constant, armed with hammers and nails, and bits of board which they from time to time sawed or cut to fit spaces, were busy at the leaks. When they had done all they could in that way within the space laid bare by the removal of the hay, they rolled other freight into that space, thus exposing another part of the bottom.
A TOUR OF INSPECTION.
“‘Hello! Irv; we’ve found the crevasse at last.’”
In this way the work went forward during the night, all of the boys except Phil securing some sleep in brief snatches, and all of them ministering, so far as they were permitted, to their captain’s need for tempting food.
About daylight, in making a shift of freight, Phil suddenly came upon something that made him call out:—
“Hello! what’s this? I say, Irv,”—for Irving was then working with him,—“we’ve found the crevasse at last.”
“I should say so,” said Irv, with a slower drawl than usual, as he held up his lantern and looked. “The Mississippi River and all its large and interesting family of tributaries seem trying to come aboard here.”
Just where the gunwale joined the bottom planks of the boat a great seam had been wrenched open, and the water was actually spouting and spurting through it.
“There’s one consolation,” said Phil. “There isn’t any other leak like this anywhere.”
“How do you know?”