The main hatch was just forward of the gun-room bulkhead; we seized a handspike apiece and went to work to prize the cover open.
"The Frozen Pirate"
W. Clark Russell
Wanting light-the candle making the darkness but little more than visible-I fetched from the arms-room a handspike that lay in a corner, and, mounting a chest, struck at the hatch so heartily that the ice cracked all around it and the cover rose.
"The Frozen Pirate"
W. Clark Russell
There was a port which I tried to open, but found it so hard frozen I should need a handspike to start it.
"The Frozen Pirate"
W. Clark Russell