AFLOAT ONCE MORE
Captain Spark laid aside his binoculars and began shoving the gig
down toward the line of surf. The tide was about half in.
"Lend a hand!" cried the commander to Mr. Tarbill. There was no
need to urge Bob, who had already grasped one side of the gunwale
and was helping to push the boat down the beach.
It was almost too much for the captain and Bob, as Mr. Tarbill,
however willing he was, could not bring much strength to the work.
Fortunately, however, Tim Flynn came from the woods at that moment,
dragging after him a long thin pole to serve as a mast. He saw
what the captain wanted and ran up to help. Between the three they
managed to get the gig afloat.
"Now then! Lively!" cried the commander. "Their boat is settling
fast!"
Tim did not need to be told what the object was in launching the
gig. Fortunately there had been a spare pair of oars in the craft
when she came ashore, the big blades being fastened so they could
not float away. With these the captain and Tim began to propel the
boat toward the sinking craft in which were Mr. Carr and Ned Scudd.
The two latter were bailing so fast that they had no chance to row.
Bob also went in the gig, but Mr. Tarbill remained on shore,
nervously running up and down, wringing his hands and uttering vain
wishes that he had never undertaken a sea voyage for his health.
It was not long before the gig was close to the other boat, and
Captain Spark called out a glad greeting to his first mate and the
sailor.
"What happened?" he asked.
"We hit some floating wreckage last night," explained Mr. Carr.
"Stove quite a hole, but I managed to stuff part of a sail in it,
and we did very well until early this morning. Then some of the
seams began to open, and we're filling fast."
"I'll take you aboard," said the commander. "We've got a nice
little island waiting for you. Where are the other men?"
"Drowned," replied Mr. Carr solemnly. "That is, those who were
with me. When we got the hole in us they became frightened and
leaped overboard--that is, all but Ned here. I tried to make 'em
stay in, but they wouldn't. That is the last I saw of them. The
other boat, with Sam Bender and his crew, we lost sight of."
"Poor fellows," murmured the captain.
The first mate and Ned were soon in the captain's gig, and shortly
afterward the boat with the hole in her filled and sank.
"Never mind," consoled the captain. "It's shallow here and at low
tide we may be able to get her. Anything left in her, Mr. Carr?"
"Considerable provisions in the water-tight compartments. Also
some supplies."
"Very good. We'll need 'em all. We're quite a party of castaways
now."
"How did you find Bob?" asked the first mate, for his boat had been
near when the boy fell overboard.
"Oh, Bob discovered the island for us," replied the commander, and
he explained the various happenings.
Shore was soon reached, and then Mr. Carr and Ned, neither of whom
had been able to eat much because of the necessity of bailing to
keep from sinking, were given a good meal.
The two latest arrivals looked with interest on what had already
been done to form a camp. When their wet trousers were hung up to
dry in the hot sun, they rested in the shade of the tent and Bob
explained his adventures on first reaching the island.
"Have you any idea where we are, captain?" asked Mr. Carr, after a
mutual exchange of experiences.
"Only a slight one. I'm going to take an observation this noon.
Fortunately, my chronometer did not stop and I can get the correct
reckoning."
But the captain was disappointed. At noon the sun was hidden under
a dense bank of clouds, and, as "dead reckoning" would have been of
no avail, since they had no previous record to go by, he had to
postpone matters.
However, there was plenty to do. When the tide went out late that
afternoon they saw that it would be possible to get most of the
things from the wrecked boat. This kept them busy until dark.
Then a big campfire was lighted, and, though the tent was rather
crowded with six in it, they managed to sleep fairly comfortably.
The next day it rained, and the castaways put in rather a miserable
existence. Fortunately, they had carried the food into the tent,
where it was protected from the terrific tropical downpour. The
rain kept up for three days, and during all that time Mr. Tarbill
never ceased complaining.
As for Bob and the others, they did not mind getting wet through,
for the weather was very warm. Under the captain's directions they
had built a sort of screen for the fire at the first sign of a
storm, making it of green cocoanut tree leaves on slanting poles
like a "lean-to," and this kept the blaze going in spite of the
wetness, as plenty of dry wood had been gathered before the rain
began.
On the fourth day the sun shone brightly, the downpour had ceased,
and they rejoiced in the beautiful scenery around them, even though
they were shipwrecked and on a strange island.
"We must build a more substantial shelter than the tent," Captain
Spark decided that morning. "We may have to stay here for several
months, and the tent is not large enough. Besides, we must keep
our supplies dry."
They decided to make a small log cabin, and, with this end in view,
Bob, the two sailors, and Mr. Carr set off into the woods to hew
down trees for this purpose.
Captain Spark and Mr. Tarbill remained behind to get the camp in
better shape after the storm. The commander also wished to take a
sun observation that noon and work out the position of the island.
As Bob and his three companions were going through the wood, they
were surprised to see several birds of brilliant plumage. Some of
them sang sweetly.
"That's a good sign!" exclaimed Mr. Carr.
"Why?" asked Bob.
"Because if there are birds on this small island, it shows that
there must be a larger island not far away. Birds of this kind
live in large forests, and as there are none here, on account of
the size of this island, that shows they must come from some other
one, or from the mainland."
"I hope you're right," said Bob. "We might be able to get to some
other island in the gig, and then we would stand a better chance of
being rescued."
When the little party got back to camp, carrying a number of poles
for the beginning of the hut, they found Captain Spark preparing to
take an observation, as it was nearly noon. He asked Mr. Carr to
assist him.
In a few minutes, after taking the altitude of the sun through the
sextant and working out a calculation from his table of figures,
the captain was able to announce the result, giving the latitude
and longitude of the island.
"Why," exclaimed Bob, "that is about the location of the island
shown on the parchment map that Captain Obed gave me."
"So it is!" cried the captain. "Where is the map, Bob?"
"Lost overboard with the rest of my things, I suppose, when the
boat capsized," was the rueful answer.
"That's so. Now we'll never know whether there was any treasure or
not. However, there's no use worrying about that. The best news
is that we are not far off from a very large island, at which ships
frequently touch for water and provisions."
"Good!" cried Mr. Carr. "About how far off, captain?"
"Not more than two hundred miles."
"But how can we go two hundred miles?" asked Mr. Tarbill.
"In the small boat--my gig--to be sure. We have sufficient
provisions for twice that journey, and the boat is large enough."
"I'll never venture to sea in a small boat!" declared the nervous
passenger.
The others paid little attention to him, being too much interested
in what the captain had to say about the other island. He had
never been there, but he had heard of it. It was inhabited by a
tribe of friendly natives.
"Shall we start soon?" asked Mr. Carr.
"I think we'll wait a week or two and see what turns up here. We
are very comfortable, and I don't want to undertake the voyage in
the small boat if there is any chance of a ship taking us off from
here."
The thought that they were not so very far from an island, where
the chances of rescue were most excellent, put every one in good
humor, save Mr. Tarbill. He remained gloomy and nervous.
It was decided to proceed with the building of the hut, and in a
few days it was finished and thatched with thick green leaves, that
were almost as good as shingles.
"There, now let it rain if it wants to," said Mr. Carr. "We'll be
good and dry. The tent can be used as a storehouse for what the
hut won't hold."
It seemed as if the rain was going to take them at their word, for
there came a steady downpour the next day, and it lasted a week
with but few intermissions. They were very weary of it.
Yet through it all Bob kept up his good spirits. He was a changed
boy, and though, once or twice, the spirit of mischief seemed about
to break out in him, he restrained it, to the secret delight of
Captain Spark.
"I was right, after all," he said to Mr. Carr, one day when the
rain had ceased. "It needed a sea voyage to straighten Bob out,
but I didn't figure on a shipwreck doing it."
The boy was very helpful about camp. No task was too hard for him,
no labor too much, and he never grumbled. He had grown almost used
to life on the island, as had the other castaways. But Captain
Spark had not given up the plan of sailing for the large island.
He waited until he thought the weather had settled down and then,
one fine morning, he gave the word to load the small boat with all
their supplies.
"Do you think we can make it?" asked Mr. Carr.
"I think so. We can try, at any rate. We'll have this island and
the log cabin to return to in case we have to turn back."
"Are you really going to put to sea in that small boat?" asked Mr.
Tarbill nervously, when the time for departure came.
"That's what we are," replied the captain.
"Then I'm not going."
"Very well. If you want to stay we'll leave you some provisions,
and perhaps, in six months, a ship may pass here and see the shirt
signal."
"Six months?"
"Well, maybe longer; maybe a shorter time."
"And I'll have to stay here all alone?"
"That's what you will," answered Captain Spark shortly, for he was
beginning to tire of Mr. Tarbill's cowardice.
"Oh, dear! What shall I do?" exclaimed the nervous man.
"Come along with us," suggested Bob.
"I'm afraid."
"Then stay on the island. That won't sink," said the captain.
"I'm afraid of that, too."
"Well, we're going," announced the commander, preparing to aid in
shoving the boat down to the water's edge.
"Oh! Don't leave me behind! I'll go! I'll go! But I know I'll
be drowned! I'm sure of it!"
"You're a cheerful passenger," murmured the captain, as Mr. Tarbill
got into the boat. "Let her go, boys!"
A few minutes later they were afloat once more, leaving "Bob's
Island" behind. Would they be able to reach the other one! That
was the question in every heart.