“Blast my eyes, Sumner!” the captain shouted; “I’ve made the wrong port. This is not San Juan, at all; this is Arecibo, forty miles down the coast!” By this time the officers had executed their orders. “Port quarterboat lowered, sir!” Mr. Gran shouted. “Fore and aft wells dry, sir,” said Mr. Turner. “Six fathom fore and aft, sir,” the quartermaster reported. “Less than two fathom amidship. She’s run up on a reef till she’s nearly balanced on it.” But the worst report of all came from the engineer. He ran up to say:-- “Machinery disabled, sir. The jar has disconnected the main steampipe!” “You must mend it, chief!” the captain answered. “We _must_ have steam or we’re gone. She’ll break in two inside of an hour on this reef.” Leaving that work to the chief engineer, the captain went on issuing orders. “Get out a kedge anchor, Mr. Gran, and put the cable on the after winch.” This work took some minutes, and while it was in progress Dick was delighted to hear the propeller revolving again, for that showed that the steampipe had been repaired. Dick was dodging into the little chart room every minute now, making memoranda of all the orders issued; for in that flood of rain it was impossible to write. When the kedge anchor was in place over the stern the after winch was started and the line tautened, but after a hard pull it snapped like a cord. “Get out another anchor!” The captain and all on board were growing more excited--all but Dick; he was busy taking notes. The second kedge anchor did better. With the engines reversed at full speed and the winch revolving, they could feel the ship move. They sighted her bow with one of the fires on shore, and she certainly backed. She had begun to move faster, when there was a terrible crash aft and the stern flew up into the air. “That settles us!” the captain shouted. “We’ve struck something and knocked the whole stern out of her.” But he kept the engines backing and the winch going, and in a minute the stern settled to its proper position and the ship continued to back. The anchor cable was cut and the quarterboat hoisted, and on went the ship, backing slowly seaward. She was afloat! “Sound the wells, Mr. Turner!” “Heave the lead, quartermaster!” The ship was taking a little water, so “start the number two pump, Mr. Gran,” was ordered. But the stern was still sound as far as could be seen in the rain and darkness, and she still floated and moved. For nearly half an hour the captain kept the engines reversed and the ship backing seaward; then he started her ahead, pointed up the coast toward San Juan.