Sentence:  Then the conversation broke off, and there was little more talking, only a noise of men going backwards and forwards, and of putting down of kegs and the hollow gurgle of good liquor being poured from <WSD>breakers</WSD> into the casks. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A small cask of liquid kept permanently in a ship's boat in case of shipwreck.