A gang of men climbed across the ledge and began to cut the slimy mass with spades.

The surface heaved beneath them like a treacherous bog and the smell was horrible.

Now and then a spade made an opening for the gases to escape and the nauseated men were driven back.

For all that, they filled the skip and the swinging derrick carried the load across the deck and tilted it overboard.
The heat was almost unbearable, the reflections from the oily swell and wet deck hurt one's eyes, and Lister noted that the deck did not dry until the sea breeze began to blow.

The wind brought a faint coolness and drove back the smell, but the men's efforts presently got slack.