The first strokes of the pump told us that his fears were not without good foundation. The water gushed from the scuppers bright and clean!
"Get me a dry ropeyarn," said Father Grafton, quietly. "Draw the boxes, and let's sound the well."
A plummet was soon extemporized, and lowered into the pump-well. It was drawn carefully up again. O, how anxiously all eyes were riveted upon it, as with suspended breath we awaited the mate's words. "Twenty-five inches."
"That's not so bad as it might be," he said cheerfully. "It's some time since she struck there. Rig the other pump and man them both!"
We kept both pumps going fast and strong till they sucked. We then timed her, and when we pumped her again, we made the leak about fifteen hundred strokes an hour.
"That will keep us pretty busy pumping," said the old man, "until we get in somewhere where we can stop it. However, we may thank God we came off as well as we did. We can keep the leak under till we reach one of the Carolines, and as for the three men, I don't consider either of them wounded seriously, though they may be disabled from duty for some days. We'll break out in the starboard side of the run this afternoon, and see if we can make any discoveries."
We broke out, accordingly, and judging by the sound, where the leak was, we cut out a piece of the ceiling. We found a place crushed in two planks in width, the broken wood still remaining, though much shattered, and forced out of its place. With a "fothering" of canvas and oakum, and some boards nailed to the timbers to hold all in place, we reduced the leak considerably. This was all that could be done to it from the inside, but we were satisfied that we could get at it, by careening the ship in a smooth harbor, and repair it, as we did the former leak at Hanayapa; as the timbers did not appear to be materially injured. We timed her again in our watch that night, and found we pumped only about nine hundred strokes an hour.
Off the Rocks again. Page [227].