And so it proved--at least the _Mary Ellen_ was not doomed to go to the bottom at once. The storm still raged with seemingly unabated violence, but the sailors, under the direction of Captain Jepson, got a heavy piece of canvas over the worst leak, and then the repaired pumps kept the water in the hold down to a normal level. The failure of the pumps to work, until Jack and the men fixed them was due to criminal negligence on the part of Brisco. He put to sea with this necessary part of a ship in poor condition, not thinking they would be needed. Brisco was a desperate man, and so was Lacomb. They had been involved in more than one shady transaction, and though both may have been aboard with Jack, during the mutiny, they successfully covered their tracks. Brisco and Lacomb sulked below, and, for the time being, no effort was made to bring them up and set them to work, though every hand was needed. Some of the members of the film company turned in and helped. It was thought better not to incite a fight. So the _Mary Ellen_ lurched on through the storm, a mere semblance of the gallant craft she had appeared to be on leaving port. And those aboard labored desperately to keep her afloat. "Talk about a shipwreck!" gasped Mr. Pertell, as a wave drenched him, "this is the most realistic I ever saw. If I could only picture this!" But it was impossible. How the planned drama of the sea would end, no one could tell. "And oh! to think of poor Russ and Mr. Sneed out in this--if they _are_ still out in it," murmured Alice, as she and Ruth clung to one another in their cabin. "The _Ajax_ may have survived," Ruth said, hopefully. And indeed, at that moment, the motorboat was making the best of the bad weather. The sea anchor which Russ had rigged provided the necessary drag and steerage way, and the boat's head was kept to the waves. Her high bow, and covered fore-part, enabled her to ride seas that would have swamped another craft of like size. And her dory-build added to her safety. The bank fishermen know well how to shape a boat to meet heavy seas. "Well, we seem to be doing fairly well," said Russ, as he and his companion settled down in the shelter, to nibble at a bit of hard tack and drink some of the water Jack had put on board. "Yes, I suppose it might be worse," agreed Mr. Sneed. And that, for him, was saying a great deal. So the _Ajax_ drifted on, as the _Mary Ellen_ was driving, before the gale, the occupants of neither craft knowing aught of the others. And the storm still raged. After a while Russ, for want of something better to do, began looking over the motor. Presently he discovered something that made him shout for joy. "What is it?" asked his companion. "Do you see the schooner?" "No, but I can make this boat run. Look, the propeller hasn't dropped off at all! The set screws of the sleeve have become loose and the propeller shaft didn't turn, that was all."