Part 8 (1/2)
”You would not say that if you saw her at high tide, when the water must flow in and out of her, for her bottom is like a sieve,” answered To another boat; but we hly seaworthy”
As the tackles were at hand, they at once hoisted the tar-barrel on deck; but by this tier on board, and therefore, doing up thefirst descended, Desether their packages weighed a good deal; but, delighted with their acquisition, they trudged along right ht
”We shall astonish thes we have brought”
They had no little difficulty in getting back, and had frequently to stop and rest; but eager to join their coht closed on theht of the welcome fire under the cliff Pat had just concocted their potful of turtle soup, and had so in the embers He and the rest could scarcely believe their eyes when they saw the treasures Toer to set off the next day Too in the boat, as there was a landing-place not far off, and the weather proly launched their boat, carrying several cocoa-nut shells hich to bale her out, not forgetting to take also a supply of provisions
The as off the land, the water s outside the reefs, keeping a bright look out for any which reeable part of the expedition was the necessity of keeping two bands constantly baling This showed how utterly impossible it would have been to have attee before the boat had been repaired They found a sandy beach about a quarter of a mile from the wreck Here they hauled the boat up, and all hands at once eagerly hastened on board Pat suggested that the first thing to be done was to bury the bodies, so that they reed to perfor found an old sail, they placed the re the articles on board were a couple of spades, so that having dragged the bodies to a piece of soft ground inside the rocks, they quickly dug a grave, in which the white ether
”They'll not fight there,” said Tim, ”whatever they may have done while they had life in them”
The hold was then washed down, after which so been found, To the hold They were now able to search the vessel thoroughly Al they could possibly require was discovered in her Still Tith he gave a shout
”Hurrah!” he cried out, ”here is the treasure, my boys;” and he produced a box of tobacco, in which was still a considerable portion of its original contents ”It will serve us for many a day to coave the rateful after the unpleasant duty they had perfored in selecting the articles which they considered would be of the most use, so that should any accident happen to the wreck before they could return, they s
In Toe had apparently been a long one, as nearly all the provisions had been exhausted A small barrel of biscuit, with a few pieces of beef at the botto on board
There was, however, soet to carry off so utensils, as well as a few cups, plates, a tea-pot, so, which would enable thee of linen
To their head-quarters to the little bay where their boat was drawn up; but on consideration, as it was in an exposed situation, he and Desinal ca to raise the boat's gunwales, and to put a sether they were highly satisfied with the treasures they had obtained, and having laden their boat, they oncetheht by the time they landed their stores and had conveyed the articles of food to their encampment
Tom and Desmond were in much better spirits than they had been before
They had now, as they couldtheir intended voyage They had a good store of provisions, with a compass, chart, quadrant, and almanac, so that they could direct their course in any direction which was considered advisable They were still in soo on to the Ladrones or steer for japan In the latter case they would be likely to fall in with an English e uided by the winds and the state of the weather
japan was certainly nearer, but they lishht be treated by the natives They hoped, too, that the _Dragon_ ed to reach the Ladrones, where, as she would without doubt reht be able to rejoin her
None of the party, unfortunately, hadlived so long aes, was the most skilful and accustomed to turn his hand to all sorts of work They trusted, however, for success to the right exercise of their wits They had toaway various articles which they thought ht be of use They then, without further loss of time, commenced operations
The first task was to fix on a false keel, about half a foot in depth, to enable the boat to sail closer to the wind than she would otherwise have been able to do It took soinal keel Fortunately, they had found so screhich ht idea,” said Toth in the first place two inches deep, which we can firmly secure with iron hoops to the side of the keel, and into that we can run our screws, so that there will be no risk of splitting the keel”
This plan was carried out
”To my mind, no carpenter could have done it better,” exclaimed Jerry, as he surveyed the work
The fore-part of the boat was next decked over, a piece of canvas being nailed down on the top of it, and well painted, thus rendering it perfectly water-tight On the sae lockers aft, and another amidshi+ps, in which their heavier previsions could be stored
These beingthe boat afloat should a heavy sea break on board of her The gunas then raised a foot all round, and a bulwark placed athwartshi+ps, abaft the forecastle deck, fro hatch was fitted, so that in reality their boat was half decked over They lastly gave her a thick coat of tar outside, and two coats of paint all over inside She was rigged with a mainsail, abowsprit, so that a jib could be set in light winds, with a flying gaff topsail Having plenty of canvas and spars, they also fitted a square sail; soh the stores they intended to take would reader them at first unnecessary Tom had, however, half a dozen spare ones made, which could be filled froht touch, as their stores becahly seaworthy They had been working hard all day, the last touch was given, and after a critical examination she was pronounced complete
”Now, lads, ill launch her,” cried Tom