CHAPTER XXVIII.
SHORE LIFE.
The little party on the beach remained as if spell-bound while the firedestroyed what seemed like the last link which bound them to home. Theonly sounds to be heard, save the roaring of the flames, were when adeep, quivering sigh came from Walter's lips, or Joe gave vent to asuppressed groan.
The fire leaped and danced as if in fiendish glee, devouring thewood-work of the Sea Bird, and warping the machinery beyond all furtherusefulness, until there was no longer anything above water for it tofeed upon. Then slowly, with many a protesting hiss and puff of steam,it gradually died away, the last smouldering ember expiring in less thantwo hours from the discovery of the danger.
Nothing was left of what had been a jaunty little craft save theblackened lines which marked the position of the hull lying in six feetof water.
When all was over and the smoke no longer arose, Bob said with anevident effort:
"Well, lads, we're what you might call shipwrecked at last, though itjes' the same as took two good vessels an' a tug to finish us up.Whinin' won't do any good, an' we've got to make some kind of a start atbuildin' a hut, for we're here till a craft puts in by mistake an' takesus off."
"I'm the one to blame for this last disaster," Joe said moodily. "Nobodybut a fool would have left a roaring fire in the galley without so muchas looking at it now and then!"
"Don't go to kickin' up a fuss with yourself," Bob said soothingly. "Weall know it was an accident, for you set even more by the steamer thanwe did. What puzzles me, though, is how it could 'a' happened, no matterhow much fire there was."
"In order to heat the iron I took off the top of the stove and openedthe entire front. On leaving I paid no attention to closing it, and ofcourse some of the coals must have fallen out."
"We was rich _once_, anyhow," Jim said with a sigh. "It's too bad weworked so hard to get the gold aboard, for it didn't have a chance to dous any good."
"Jes' about this time grub is worth more to us than all the moneypirates ever saw!" Bob replied quite sharply, as if realizing thenecessity of arousing his companions from their unavailing sorrow."We've got a tidy bit of work that must be done between this an' sunset,an' it's time we were beginning."
As he spoke he went up the beach a short distance, to where the raft hadgrounded in twelve inches of water, and began to unload her, carryingthe goods beyond the line of sand to the edge of the thicket.
He was not allowed to labor alone but a few moments. The others weresoon at his side, working with a will; and this necessary exertion wasmost beneficial, since it prevented the little party from dwelling ontheir misfortunes.
The awning was among the articles saved from the steamer, and the firsttask after the raft had been unloaded was to set this up as a tent inthe same place where the red-nosed man and his companions had encamped.Then it was necessary to build a fire-place, bring all the goods fromthe shore, and stow the perishable articles under the canvas, where theywould not be destroyed in case of a storm.
In order to complete this work before sunset it was essential that eachmember of the party should do his best regardless of fatigue, and whenthe task was finished, just as the sun began to descend beyond thehorizon, the boys were so nearly exhausted that Bob said:
"Crawl under the tent and lay down. I'll see to what little cookin'we've got on hand, an' it shall be your watch below till mornin'."
The canvas had been fastened to four trees in such a manner as to form ashed-like roof, and while it would be of but little service in event ofa heavy storm, it afforded sufficient shelter to protect the homelessones from the dew and the sun; therefore until the weather changed itwas all that could be desired.
The question of food was the most disheartening and caused Bob no slightamount of anxiety. They had saved only such articles as chanced to be ondeck. A round of pork which Jim brought from the fore-peak and leftunder the awning, quite by accident, when he was preparing for thevoyage in the yawl; half a dozen pounds of ship's-biscuit from thecabin-locker; a sheet of corn-bread which, together with a jug ofmolasses, the workmen had taken from the galley to serve as lunch, andabout a peck of potatoes, made up the total amount of provisions forfive people until aid in some form should come.
There was barely enough for two days' consumption, and no one knewbetter than Bob how long a time might elapse before a vessel approachednear enough to be signaled.
This was the one thought in his mind as he built a small fire andbroiled a limited number of slices cut from the pork, while Joe wasbusily engaged stowing the last of their belongings under the canvas.
"It's a case of turtle-huntin' to-morrow, I reckon," he said grimly asthe engineer, having arranged the goods to his satisfaction, threwhimself on the grass near the fire. "It'll be mighty short rations forall hands unless we look sharp."
"There ought to be plenty of fish in the cove," Joe replied after amoment's thought. "I'll make something that'll serve as a hook, and theboys can spend their time on the raft. There are oysters here, mostlikely; and if the Bonita struck the shoal anywhere near, somethingeatable may have been washed ashore."
"I hadn't thought of that!" and Bob's face brightened as he spoke. "Youan' I will take a trip around the key in the mornin', an' then perhapsthings will look more cheerful. I reckon we're all tired enough to sleepto-night, but from the next sunrise somebody must be on watch for a sailevery hour. It's the only chance we've got now of ever leavin' thisblessed place."
"Then send Walter out on the point after breakfast. For the next fewdays standing watch will be the lightest work, an' he, being thesmallest, should have the softest job."
"I guess that's about the way we'll fix things," Bob replied as he laidthe last slice of smoked and blackened pork on a broad leaf. "Let's havesupper an' turn in, so's to be on deck early in the mornin'."
It was not a very palatable meal to which the boys were summoned. Asmall piece of corn-bread, two ship's-biscuit, and one thick slice ofthe poor apology for meat was what Bob portioned out to each, and whenthe unsatisfactory repast was ended all save Joe crawled under thecanvas on the two mattresses. He remained by the fire until a rudefish-hook had been fashioned from a stout piece of iron wire, when,joining the others, he also was soon wrapped in the blissfulunconsciousness of sleep.
At a very early hour next morning Jim resumed his duties as cook, andthe breakfast was even less appetizing than the supper.
Then Bob read the party a short lesson which he thought, and with goodreason, they needed:
"Now, my hearties, work is what we all want, to keep us from thinkin'too much of the little steamer that has gone up in smoke, an' there mustbe a good bit of it unless we're willin' to go hungry. Don't worry aboutanything, but remember some kind of craft is bound to put in here beforelong; an' if the gold is frettin' you, why I'm bound to say there's noreason to look on it as lost."
This last remark caused no amount of surprise among his audience, andnoting the good effect, he spoke more decidedly:
"The treasure was packed under the ballast, an' before the fire couldget anywhere near it the hull must 'a' been full of water. Now, to pullit out ain't much more'n child's play; but it's our duty to lay in afair stock of grub before tacklin' the job, an' we can work knowin' allhands are as rich as they were before the fire started."
This little speech did a wonderful amount of good. Despite their forlornand perhaps dangerous position, every member of the party had bewailedthe loss of the gold more than any other thing. But now that Bob spokeof recovering it in such a matter-of-fact tone, they suddenly regainedall their lost courage, and were ready to begin the labors of the day.
Immediately after being awakened Joe had begun the tedious task ofweaving a fishing-line from the strands of the heaving-rope, and by thetime Bob concluded his inspiriting speech a cord thirty feet long wascompleted.
To attach the rudely-fashioned hook and a rock to serve as sinkerrequired only a few moments, and then Jim and Harry had their portion ofthe work
mapped out.
"Use the pork as bait, an' when you've caught fish enough for dinnerknock off. We've got nothin' to cure 'em with, an' there's no sense intakin' more'n we can eat at one time. Walter is to stand watch on thenorth point, an' you can join him when your job is finished."
Then the two men and the boy started off around the shore to the onlyplace on the key from which a passing craft could be seen, and the youngfisherman, with some pieces of half-burned planks as oars, sculled theraft out into deep water.
A brisk walk of half an hour was necessary before a sightly spot for thesentinel could be found; and Joe said, as he and Bob continued on aroundthe beach to search for oysters:
"It'll be a bit lonesome here, Walt; but you must do a share of thework. Keep your weather-eye lifting all the time, an' if you see anykind of a craft sing out till we answer."
Walter did feel a trifle nervous at being left alone so far from hiscompanions; but he made a manly effort to appear brave, and said, as themen walked swiftly away:
"Don't trouble yourselves about me. I can stand watch as well as any oneelse, and if a sail does heave in sight you shall know it."
"That's right, lad; keep up your courage whatever may happen, an'everything will come out ship-shape!" Bob shouted cheerily as he and Joedisappeared around a clump of bushes, leaving Walter alone with themournful lip, lip, lip of the sea ringing in his ears like a funeraldirge.