Clams,
Lobsters,
Mussels,
Shrimps,
Dulse.
As he murmured to himself the list of things, he smiled triumphantly.
But still there was work to be done. Tom intended to keep fashionable
hours, and dine late, with only a lunch in the middle of the day. His
explorations of the afternoon were to be important, and he hoped that
they would be crowned with a portion of that success which had attended
the work of the morning. He took, therefore, a hasty lunch of biscuit
and cold lobster, washed down with water, and then set forth.
This time he turned away from the shore, and went to the top of the
island. He carried in his hand a bit of rope, about a dozen feet in
length, and went along the edge of the cliff as far as he could,
turning aside at times to avoid any clumps of trees or bushes that grew
too thickly. In front of him the line of cliff extended for some
distance, and he walked along, until, at last, he came to a place where
the gulls flew about in larger flocks than usual, almost on a line with
the top of the rock. He had not noticed them particularly on his
former walk along here; but now he watched them very attentively, and
finally stood still, so as to see their actions to better advantage.
Tom, in fact, had made up his mind to procure some gulls' eggs,
thinking that these would make an addition to his repast of great
importance; and he now watched the motions of these birds, so as to
detect the most accessible of their nests. He did not have to watch
long. A little observation showed him a place, just under the cliff,
not far away from him. Hastening forward, he bent over, and, looking
down, he saw a large number of nests. They had been constructed on a
shelf of rock immediately below the edge of the cliff, and the eggs
were within easy reach. The gulls flew about wildly, as the intruder
reached down his hands towards their nests, and screamed and shrieked,
while some of them rushed towards him, within a few feet of his head,
as though they would assail him and beat him off. But Tom's
determination did not falter. He cared no more for the gulls than if
they were so many pigeons, but secured as many eggs as he could carry.
These he took with him back to his camp.
But he was not yet satisfied. He was anxious to have some vegetables;
and over the open ground, among the grass, he had seen plants which
were very familiar to him. There were dandelions; and Tom saw in them
something that seemed worth more than any of his other acquisitions.
Going forth in search of these, he managed to get his pan full of them.
These he washed, and after cutting off the roots, he put them in the
pan with water, and then set them over the fire to boil.
While they were boiling Tom went off once more, and found some wild
strawberries. They were quite plentiful about here, and this was the
season for them. He stripped a piece of bark from a birch tree, as the
country people do, and formed from this a dish which would hold about a
quart. This he filled after a moderate search.
He took the strawberries to his camp, and then, going back to the
woods, he procured some more birch bark, out of which he made a half
dozen dishes. It was now about five o'clock, and Tom thought it was
time for him to begin to cook his dinner.
The dandelions were not quite cooked as yet; so Tom had to wait; but
while doing so, he heated some stones in the fire. By the time they
were heated, the dandelions were cooked; and Tom, removing the pan, put
some shrimps and mussels in it, to boil over the fire. He then removed
the stones, and placed one of the lobsters among them in such a way,
that it was surrounded on every side in a hot oven. He then buried a
few clams among the hot ashes, and did the same with three or four of
the gulls' eggs.
One of the hot stones was reserved for another purpose. It was the
largest of them, and was red hot when he drew it from the fire, but
soon cooled down enough to resume its natural color, although it
retained an intense heat.
Over this he spread some of the wet dulse, which soon crackled and
shrivelled up, sending forth a rich and fragrant steam. In roasting
this dulse, a large piece would shrink to very small proportions, so
that half of Tom's armful, when thus roasted, was reduced to but a
small handful.
After finishing this, he drew the gulls' eggs from the fire, and taking
off the shells, he cut them in slices, and put them with the
dandelions. Then he took the shrimps and mussels from the fire, and
removing them from the pan, he separated them, and put them into
different bark dishes. The clams were next drawn forth, and though
rather overdone, they were, nevertheless, of tempting appearance and
appetizing odor. Finally, the lobster was removed, and Tom contented
himself with one of the claws, which he placed on a dish, reserving the
remainder for another time.
And now the articles were all cooked, and Tom's repast was ready. He
looked with a smile of gratification upon the various dishes which his
ingenuity and industry had drawn forth from the rocks, and cliffs, and
mud, and sand of a desert island, and wondered whether other islands,
in tropical climates, could yield a more varied or more nutritious
supply. He thought of other plants which might be found here, and
determined to try some that seemed to be nutritious.