In several places the planking had been three parts eaten away, some of the ribs were burned right through, the forecastle deck overhead was gone, and but for the outer copper sheathing it was certain that the 'Alert' could not have remained two hours above water.
'I would abandon her now,' the skipper said, 'had it not been my desire to save all the stores. The island we are shaping for is, I believe, uninhabited, and how long we may be compelled to remain there before assistance arrives depends on luck! There are the Chinamen to feed, and so we must endeavour to put her on the coral.'
'A thrummed sail secured outside the bow might stop the leak, sir,' Mr. Sennit observed.
'Yes, that may be tried,' the old man replied; 'but the bow is so seriously injured that I'm afraid nothing can be of much use.'
CHAPTER XV
THE 'ALERT'S' LAST BERTH
'What is a thrummed sail, Readyman?' Jack inquired.
'Well, my son,' the quarter-master explained, 'the selected piece of canvas is worked into narrow pleats, and those are pierced with holes and filled by short ends of teazed oakum. In other words, it is a big mat placed against the injured spot, so that the material can work into the seams from outside. Our metal sheathing is nearly awash, and unless it has got strained by fire the mat won't be of much use.'
All the same, it was placed in position, and the water casks in the forehold were shifted farther aft, so as to raise the bow slightly above the surface of the sea.
One great advantage always remained with them, the sea kept perfectly smooth and the wind moderate. Of course, the pumps were always on the move, and the Chinamen worked with a will.