Then, another sailor took a turn at it, and so on, until each had had his go; when Jackson, rested a bit and refreshed by a long drink of water, began anew, making the chips of the hard wood fly as well as the sea, which he splashed up at every stroke the spray going into his eyes and almost blinding him.
All the men worked with the greatest perseverance in spite of their weak state; and, just before sunset, when the mast was about half cut through, it gave signs of at length yielding, sundry sharp cracks being heard as its natural buoyancy forced it to rise, the different purchases that previously held it to the deck being also now severed.
"Bravo, men, one spell more all round, and we'll have the spar loose!" cried Captain Miles, going down into the waist himself to head this last attack, and taking a longer turn with the axe than anyone.
Blow after blow was then rained upon the heel of the mast, all working with fresh courage and determination as the ponderous piece of timber gave way before their efforts, a wide gaping hole having been now made in it by the axe.
"Look out and stand clear!" shouted Jackson, catching on to the same old sling he had rove out of the topsail halliards by which he had lowered himself from the bulwarks, and swinging himself out of danger.

"It's coming at last!" At the same moment, a scrunching, wrenching sound was heard, followed by a long, loud crack; and then, up floated the mainmast cut off close to the deck, although still attached to the ship by the rigging on the starboard side--which could not be reached, of course, at present, being under water, and the sea covering it to the depth of ten or twelve feet.
The effect of this relief to the ship was at once apparent, the forward portion of the wreck sensibly rising out of the sea, and the top of the forecastle being now visible, as well as the whole of the port bulwarks up to the cat-head on that side; while the main-deck below us, and the upper portion of the poop, became slanting at an angle towards the water on the starboard, instead of being almost perpendicular to it as before, thus showing that the centre of gravity was changed and the vessel recovering her stability.
"Bravo, men!" exclaimed Captain Miles joyously, delighted at such confirmatory proofs that his hopes of righting the _Josephine_ were not unduly sanguine.

"As soon as we get the foremast clear she'll come up all standing, never fear! Can't you see how the poor thing is trying hard to free herself now ?" As the portion of the floating mast that was inboard now rose out of the water as far as the main-top, a party of the men with Moggridge scrambled on to it and began cutting away the various cross ropes, halliards, clew-lines, and so on, that held it to the fore and mizzen spars.

The yards had now floated too, although the upper portion of the mainmast bearing their weight, as it slewed over, pressed on the starboard bulwarks, remaining in that position from the calmness of the sea, which had not motion enough to drift it away.
"If only a slight breeze would spring up now, so as to rouse a little more swell, we'd float clear of this wreck," observed Mr Marline.
"Half the weight of the mast still tends to keep the ship down to leeward." "Ah, we don't want it rough yet," said the captain.

"The foremast is the main thing to get rid of now; and, unless the sea keeps still, we'll never manage to cut that away, for it is still more under water than the mainmast was." "I forgot that," replied the mate; and then, both went along the bulwarks forwards to where Jackson was beginning operations at the other spar.
If the mainmast had proved stubborn and unyielding, this was twenty times more so, the great difficulty being that there was no vantage- ground to be had, in the shape of a firm footing, from whence to ply the axe.
"It's no use, sir," said Jackson, when the captain had come abreast of the spot where he was standing, in the fore-rigging, trying vainly to reach the mast below.