into the light draught wrecking vessels waiting to receive them.
As soon as one of these was loaded, she transferred her cargo to
the Nancy Bell and returned for another.

While the wreckers were busily discharging the ship's cargo, her
own crew were overhauling long lines of chain cable, and lowering
two large anchors and two smaller ones into one of the wrecking
boats that had remained empty on purpose to receive them. The
cables were paid out over the stern of the ship, and made fast to
the great anchors, which were carried far out into the deep water
beyond the reef. Each big anchor was backed by a smaller one, to
which it was attached by a cable, and which was carried some
distance beyond it before being dropped overboard.

When the anchors were thus placed in position, the ends of the
cables still remaining on board the ship were passed around
capstans, and by means of the donkey-engine drawn taut.

At high tide that night a heavy strain was brought to bear on the
cables, in hopes that the ship might be pulled off the reef; but
she did not move, and the work of lightening her and searching for
the leak continued all the next day.

While all this work was going on the Elmers spent most of their
time in exploring the reef in the captain's gig, which was so
light that Mr. Elmer and Mark could easily row it.

As the clear water was without a ripple, they could look far down
into its depths, and see the bottom of branching coral, as
beautiful as frosted silver. From among its branches sprang great