Page:Paine--Lost ships and lonely seas.djvu/379

Rh much, he ordered tarred canvas and hides to be nailed fore and aft from under the sills of the ports on the main deck under the fifth plank above, or within the waterways, and the crew, without orders did the same on the lower deck.

The ship was sinking in spite of these endeavors, and the admiral now let them throw all the guns over, which grieved him very much, "and there being eight feet of water in the magazine, every gentleman was compelled to take his turn at the whips or in handling the buckets."

These six hundred British seamen and officers were making a very gallant effort of it, and infusing them with his ardent spirit was the cheery, resourceful Admiral Graves, whose chief virtue was never to know when he was whipped. Under his direction the ship was now frapped, and if you would know how ancient was this method of trying to save a ship in the last extremity, please turn to St. Paul's story of his own shipwreck and read as follows: