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"A good thought," said I. "Let us try to find what things there are in the ship that we can thus make use of." |
We soon found some casks and ropes, and with these we made a kind of float for each of the three boys, and then my wife made one for her own use. This done, we got some knives, string, and such things as we could make fast to our belts. We did not fail to look for and find a flint and steel, and the box in which the bu... |
Fritz, who was now well-nigh worn out, lay down on his bed and slept like the rest. As for me and my poor wife, we kept watch, each in fear lest the next wave should lift the ship off the rock and break it up. |
I need not tell you how glad we were when we saw the first gleam of light. At dawn the wind did not blow so strong, the sky was clear of clouds, and we saw the sun rise, and with it rose our hopes. I soon had my wife and sons on deck. |
"Where are the men?" said they. "How can we steer the ship?" |
"My dear boys," said I, "He who has kept us safe till now will still aid us. Let all hands set to work, and leave the rest to God." |
At these words we all went to work with a will. My wife went to feed the live stock; Fritz set off in search of arms, and the means to make use of them; and Ernest made his way to the tool chest. Jack ran to pick up what he could find, but as he got to one of the doors he gave it a push, and two huge dogs sprang out an... |
When the boys had done their search, and the spoil was brought on deck, we thought we had found all that we should need. "As for me," said my wife, "I have brought good news, for I find we have still on board a cow, an ass, two goats, six sheep, a ram, a pig, and a sow, and I have found food for them all." |
"All that you bring will be of use," said I; "but I fear that Jack's dogs will do us more harm than good." |
"Not at all," said Jack, "for they can help us to hunt when we get to land." |
"Well said, Jack. And now let us see what we can do that will aid us to get there." |
We then took the casks that we had found, and Ernest and I soon cut them in half. With these tubs we made a kind of raft, though it was no slight task. The tubs, in fact, were a fleet of eight small round boats, made so fast to some planks that no one of them could float from the rest. The next thing to be done was to ... |
I then told my wife to change her dress for that of one of the crew which she had found, as her skirts would have got in her way when she had to climb. She did not at first like this, but did so as soon as she saw the truth of what I told her. |
At last, when all was done, we went to bed, and slept as sound as if we had been on land. |
Chapter II. |
WE were all up at the break of day, and knelt down to thank God that He had kept us from harm through the night. |
We then put all the things on the raft, and ten live hens and two cocks were put in one of the tubs. Some ducks and geese we let go, in the hope that they would swim to the shore; and a pair of doves were set free, as they could fly to the land. |
There was a place in the raft for each of us. In the first tub sat my wife; in the next Frank, who was eight years old; in the third Fritz, not quite twice the age of Frank; in the fourth were the fowls, and some old sails that would make us a tent; the fifth was full of good things in the way of food; in the sixth sto... |
As soon as the dogs (Bill and Turk by name) saw us push off from the ship they leaped in the sea, swam near the raft, and kept well up with us. |
The sea was calm; so that we felt quite safe. We made good use of the oars, and the raft bore its freight straight to the land; but as we drew near to the shore the sight of the bare rocks led us to think that we might still be in need of food and drink when that which we had was gone. |
As we got near, the coast lost its bare look, and we were glad to see that there was no lack of trees. We soon found a bay, to which the ducks and geese had found their way, and here we saw a place where we could land. |
As soon as we had made the raft fast with a strong rope, we took out all our wealth, and made a tent with the old sail cloth we had brought with us, and stuck a pole in the ground to keep it up. This done, I sent the boys to get some moss and dry grass to make our beds with. With the flint and steel we soon set fire to... |
Fritz, who had charge of the guns, chose one, and took a stroll by the side of a stream, while Jack went in search of shell fish, which he thought he might find on the rocks. My share of the work was to save two large casks which were near the shore. While I was up to my knees in the sea I heard a shrill cry, which I k... |
When I got back to the tent, I found that Ernest had brought us news that he had seen salt in the chinks of the rocks, and that shell fish were not scarce. |
"Well, my boy, if you are sure you saw them, I will ask you to go back for some. We must each do some work for the good of all." |
He went, and soon found the salt, left by the sea on the rocks, which the sun had made quite dry. There was some sand with it, but my wife did not take long to find a way to cure that. She had been to a fresh stream with a large jug; from this I saw her pour some on the salt, strain it through a cloth, and let it drip ... |
When the soup was made hot we had each a taste, and all said that it was good. |
"Be not in too great haste," said my wife, "we must wait for Fritz; but if he were here, I do not see how we are to take our soup, for we have no plates nor spoons." |
"If we had but some large nuts," said Ernest, "we might cut them in half, and they would make good bowls." |
"Quite true," said I; "but as there are none, we may as well wish for delf bowls and real spoons at once." |
"Now I have it," quoth Ernest. "Let us use the shells I saw on the shore." |
Off ran Jack to the shore, with Ernest at his heels, and back they both came with large and small shells for us all. |
Just then Fritz came in, with a look of gloom on his face, which I could see was a sham. |
"You do not mean to tell me you have come back with nought?" said I, as he put out his hands as if to prove that such was the case. But Jack, who had been round him, cried out, "No, no! he's got a pig! -- such a fine one. Tell us where you found it." |
Fritz now brought forth his prize. When I saw it, I knew, from what I had read, that it was not a pig, but a swift beast, known in these parts, that lives on fruit and nuts, and hides in the earth. (*The Agouti.) |
"I like the place much more than I do this spot," said he. "The shore lies low, and there are planks, casks, chests, and all sorts of things, that the sea has thrown up. Why not leave this place at once, and go there?" |
"There is a time for all things," said I. "We must at least rest here for one night." |
We all sat down to take our soup with the shell spoons. Ernest took from his coat a large shell, which he had hid till now, put it in the soup, and then set it down to cool. |
"You do not show want of thought," said I to him. "But I am not glad to see that you think so of your-self, and do so much for your own ease, when all the rest do so much for yours. Now, that shell full of soup you must give to our two dogs. We can all dip our small shells in the pot, and you must do as we do." |
I knew he felt hurt at this, but he gave it to the dogs at once, and they soon made quick work of their share of the soup. |
The sun was low when our meal came to an end. The fowls came round us to pick up the stray crumbs we had let fall, and my wife took out her bag of grain and fed the cocks and hens, and sent them to roost on the top of our tent. |
We took care to load our fire-arms, in case we might need them in the night; sang a hymn of praise to God, and then left our fate in His hands. |
Chapter III. |
As soon as I heard the cock crow, and saw by the light that it was break of day, I got out of bed and spoke to my wife as to what we should do next. |
"First," said I, "Fritz and I will make a tour of the coast and try to find some of the men who left the ship, for if they are here they may be in want." |
"But," said Fritz, who had heard me from his bed, "why should we search for those who left us to die on the wreck?" |
"Well, I will tell you," said I. "First, we should do to them as we would wish them to do to us, not as they have done; next, we know that they took no food with them, and we should not leave them to starve; and last, it may be that they can help us, though now they stand more in need of our aid." |
The boys were soon up, and we all sat down to a good meal. That done, Fritz and I got our guns. I put a pair of small arms in his belt, gave him a game bag, and told him to take an axe. I took some food for us both, and a full flask, out of which we could drink if we should stray far from a stream. |
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