SOUTHWARD 53 
only to save a clean breach of the decks did I slow down 
again and let the water gain. My next card was to get the 
watch on the hand-pumps as well, and these were choked, 
too, or nearly so. 
“ Anyhow with every pump,—handand steam,—going, 
the water continued to rise in the stokehold. At 4 a.m. all 
hands took in the fore lower topsail, leaving us under a 
minimum of sail. The gale increased to storm force (force 
II out of 12) and such a sea got up as only the Southern 
Fifties can produce. All the afterguard turned out and the 
pumps were vigorously shaken up,—sickening work as 
only a dribble came out. We had to throw some coal over- 
board to clear the after deck round the pumps, and I set to 
work to rescue cases of petrol which were smashed adrift. 
I broke away a plank or two of the lee bulwarks to give the 
seas some outlet as they were right over the level of the 
rail, and one was constantly on the verge of floating clean 
over the side with the cataract force of the backwash. I 
had all the swimming I wanted that day. Every case I 
rescued was put on the weather side of the poop to help get 
us on a more even keel. She sagged horribly and the un- 
fortunate ponies,—though under cover,—were so jerked 
about that the weather ones could not keep their feet in 
their stalls, so great was the slope and strain on their fore- 
legs. Oates and Atkinson worked among them like Tro- 
jans, but morning saw the death of one, and the loss of one 
dog overboard. The dogs, made fast on deck, were washed 
to and fro, chained by the neck, and often submerged for a 
considerable time. Though we did everything in our power 
to get them up as high as possible, the sea went every- 
where. The wardroom was a swamp and so were our bunks 
with all our nice clothing, books, etc. However, of this we 
cared little, when the water had crept up to the furnaces 
and put the fires out, and we realized for the first time that 
the ship had met her match and was slowly filling. With- 
out a pump to suck we started the forlorn hope of buckets 
and began to bale her out. Had we been able to open a 
hatch we could have cleared the main pump well at once, 
but with those appalling seas literally covering her, it 
