With one end securely weighted down, he began piling freight in the same way upon the other. Now and then the resisting water would push the heavy and heavily weighted plank away from the gunwale and force a passage for itself between. But when the plank was securely weighted down upon the bottom, two or three of the boys, acting together, were able, with axes and heavy hammers, to drive it finally and firmly against the side of the boat. Then with the long wrought-iron spikes it was firmly secured in its place, but Phil decided not to remove any of the freight that was piled on top of it, lest the tremendous water pressure from below should force even the great iron spikes out of their sockets and set the leak going again. Indeed, to prevent this he directed his comrades to pile all the freight they could so that its weight should fall upon the protecting timber. By the time that all this was done it was eleven o’clock in the morning, and Irv Strong turned to Phil with an earnest look in his eyes, and said:-- “We claim the fulfilment of your promise, Phil. You must go to sleep now.” The other boys stood by Irv’s side with faces as earnest as his own. It was obvious that he spoke for all of them and as the result of an understanding. Phil hesitated for a moment. Then he said:-- “Thank you, fellows, all of you. I’ll do as you say.” As he almost staggered toward the cabin in his exhaustion, he paused, still thoughtful of the general welfare, and said:-- “Irv, you take charge while I sleep, and call me if anything happens.” Two minutes later the lad was deeply slumbering. CHAPTER XXIX RESCUE When Phil at last waked, Ed was putting supper on the table, and it was rather a late supper too, for the boys had purposely postponed it in order to let Phil get all the sleep possible. He had in fact slept for fully eight hours. “Well, how do you feel now, skipper?” asked Will. “I don’t know exactly,” answered the boy, yawning and stretching. “Stupid for the most part, hungry for the rest of it. I say, what time of day or night is it?” “It’s about eight thirty P.M.,” answered Constant, pulling out his antique Swiss watch and consulting it. “Yes, but _what_ P.M.? What day is it? When did I go to sleep?” The boys soon straightened things out in their captain’s temporarily bewildered mind. The effort to do so was aided by the sight and smell of a great platter which Ed at that moment set upon the table. It held a “boiled dinner.” There was a juicy brisket of corned beef on top. Under it were peeled and boiled potatoes, boiled turnips still retaining their shape, and beneath all was the last cabbage on board, the remains of a purchase made at Memphis a week or ten days before, though to the boys it seemed many moons past. As Phil eyed the savory dish he became for the first time fully awake. “I say, fellows,” he broke out, “what does this mean? Why didn’t you have this sort of thing for dinner instead of keeping it for supper?”