*CHAPTER XXI.*
*A FULL DAY.*
As soon as daylight began to dawn Joe was awake, and pulling open theflap of the tent, he glanced anxiously around. "Hurrah! a pleasantday," he exclaimed under his breath.
"Boys, wake up, and let's have a row. The water is smooth, and we'llhave a jolly pull all by ourselves before the other fellows arestirring. Don't make a noise."
The four boys threw off their blankets, and dressed as hurriedly andquietly as possible, and ran down to the beach, where the boat wasfastened, high and dry above high-water mark.
"Whew!" whistled Ben, looking with dismay at the long stretch of beach,down which they must drag or push the boat before it could float. "Thetide doesn't favour us in this job, does it?"
"No, but the boat isn't heavy. We have pushed it down many a time,"said Joe courageously.
"Never, with only four pairs of hands," added Dave, not quite soenthusiastic as his friend.
"Oh, come on. If we wait for the tide to come up, we shall have a wholeposse of boys crowding in."
"All right; a long pull and a strong pull and a pull all together."
"There she goes."
"'She starts, she moves, she seems to feel The thrill of life along her keel,'"
said Dave in declamatory style.
"Well may she feel it, grating over these stones," said Ben, laughingand pushing with all his strength.
"Whew! Now! There, all together again."
* "Now! All together!" (missing from book)]*
If was a hard push, but the boat was launched at last, and the four boysin. Each took an oar and pulled hard and fast.
"Let's go over to 'Gull Rock,'" said Joe. "We are headed that way, andit will make just a good trip before breakfast."
"Which is Gull Rock?" asked Ralph, looking over his shoulder as herowed.
"That long line of dark off there just to the left of that brig."
"Joe Chester! are you crazy?"
"We can do it, and be back in time for breakfast. I know we can."
"All right; go ahead! let's try it," said Ben. "This is my first andlast row this vacation, and I'm ready to put in my best stroke. When Iinvested in this boat I expected to get my money's worth of fun out ofit; but--
'The best-laid schemes o' mice and men Gang aft agley.'"
"Especially when you have a scapegrace for a chum," said Ralph soberly."If it hadn't been for me you would have been here through it all. Ideclare it is too bad, Ben."
"Nonsense! I haven't grumbled, have I? Wait till I do, old chap. Ireckon I needed the lesson I got as much as you did, and I'm not sorrythat I had to learn it. Now, don't let's groan," and Ben began tosing,--
"'I never was on the dull, tame shore, But I loved the great sea more and more.'"
"But how was it when you were on the great sea in a fog-storm?"interrupted Ralph laughingly.
"Oh, go away. This is poetry; that wasn't."
"Not by any manner of means. You are right there."
"There's Jonas going to market to get fish for breakfast," said Joe, ashe saw Jonas and Friday coming down the rocks with basket andfishing-rods.
"You ought to be phosphorescent enough to be useful as matches, if youhave been having fish morning, noon, and night for a fortnight,"suggested Ben.
"Very likely we are. The nights have been so bright we haven't neededto light candles, so we haven't had any use for matches; but I imaginewe would all throw out a faint light if we got where it was darkenough."
"We'll have two more chances to add to our stock of phosphorus. Fishfor breakfast and fish for dinner! I see the gulls on the rocks now. Wemust be two-thirds across, boys," said Dave. "I tell you we are doingstrong pulling."
"Yes, but nothing fancy about it," laughed Ben. "I reckon an amateurboat-crew would hoot us."
"Who cares for style? I go in for speed. I can feather my oar everystroke if I want to," said Dave.
They pulled steadily, and Gull Rock was readied at last.
"Shall we land?"
"Yes, if we find a good place. Let's row along-shore and see what thechances are."
"There!" exclaimed Joe, "there's a fine chance up in that cove. Thereare lots of nests there; see the gulls fly up! We'll carry back someeggs, or the boys won't believe we've been so far."
"All right; in she goes," said Ben, lifting his dripping oar.
Dave did the same, and the two oars on the other side brought the boatquickly around, so Ben could seize the rock and jump ashore with therope. Before he had fastened it the other boys had leaped ashore also,and were hunting for gulls' eggs.
"Oh, here they are by the hatful!" cried Joe. "We can get all we wantand take only one egg from a nest, so the old birds won't bediscouraged," he said, taking his round cap off, and going from nest tonest until he had filled it.
The others did the same, and after taking a hasty run over the island,they jumped into the boat again, pulled in the rope, and were homewardbound. The pull back was more leisurely; and, as Ben said, "they paidmore attention to style." The other boys were at the landing when theboat arrived with its bare-headed crew, and the caps were speedilyemptied of the eggs, which were eagerly taken by the crowd to keep asmementoes of the vacation. After breakfast Jonas was besieged by oneafter another, begging to have the eggs boiled hard, so they would besafer to carry.
"Well, bring 'em all along, and I'll make one job of it," said Jonasgood-naturedly. "I'll put on a kettle and boil the whole lot, and youcan divide 'em afterwards."
There was a general scramble for the boiled eggs, but every boy got oneor more to put away in his valise as treasures to be taken home andpreserved for the sake of the pleasant vacation days. Such a motleycollection as these boys had got together during the two weeks--sticksand stones and rubbish of all kinds, mementoes of some good time; andthey must be taken from the island whether the more valuable propertycould be carried or not!
The steamboat was not expected till the afternoon, and during the earlypart of the day some of the boys went rowing, some to wander in thewoods. Ralph and Ben joined a fishing-party going to the place fromwhich they had been driven by the tide "on Liberty Day," as theylaughingly called it.
"Do me the honour to use my rod, Ralph," said Joe. "I think you haveseen it before."
Ralph pretended to be ignorant of his meaning. He admired the rod, butsaid, "No, Joe; I am going to cut one yonder that will do just as wellfor me."
"It is not; it is yours."
"Well, call it mine. I'm much obliged; but really now, I don't want tofish. I've had enough of that. I am going to search for bait, and keepthe hooks supplied. Just give me one half the glory of catching thefish."
"All right. We'll make it a point to keep you busy, boy. Here, bait'swanted," cried Ralph, jointing the rod and untwisting the line. "Ican't start with a bare hook."
"Hold on till I get started in the business. I haven't got in mysupplies," answered Joe, leaning down over the side of the rocks andpulling off winkles that were fastened to it. "There now; go at it.Both hooks are baited, and more meat's ready. Who wants bait? Here arefine fat winkles to cover bare hooks."
"Bait mine."--"My hook is bare," was the constant cry, as the boyscrowded around Joe, who patiently baited the hooks with the meat takenfrom the little shells, until his fingers were dyed purple.
"Well, you are a good-natured fellow, sitting here and doing this whilewe have the fun," exclaimed Ned, coming for the twentieth time to havehis hook baited.
"That depends on how you look at it," was the philosophical answer. "Imight say you are the good-natured fellows to catch my fish for me,while I sit here and smash shells in a lazy way. This is just as goodfun as fishing when you like to do it."
"I'm glad you like it," said Walter. "It is a good deal livelier workfor us than if we had to stop and search for bait ourselves."
"I move that we return
a vote of thanks to Joe Chester for hisphilanthropy or some kind of an opy--perhaps that isn't the rightword--and then go back to camp. It must be near dinner-time, and Jonaswill want these fish," suggested Ben. "Cheers for Chester! He's 'agentleman and a scholar.' Hip! hip! hip!"
The cheers were given with a will. The boys were always ready to cheeron the slightest provocation, partly because they felt free to make asmuch noise as they liked on this island, so far out on the sea, andpartly because they appreciated all good-natured acts, and this wastheir way of expressing their thanks.
Joe laughingly declared that they did him too much honour, and then, tochange the subject, said, "Let's string the biggest fish on sticks, andtake them to camp that way. Enough for dinner, you know. We can carrythem easier that way."
This was soon done, and with their fish and rods they saunteredleisurely back to the camp, stopping here and there where the hillockstempted them with blueberries.
"I hope Mr. Bernard will make arrangements to have the camp here nextsummer. He couldn't find a jollier place," exclaimed Ben.
"No; this beats all the camps we ever had," said Joe. "I move that weask Mr. Bernard to come here again."
"Any fish?" shouted Jonas, as they came near the camp ground.
The boys held up the sticks for their answer, and Jonas gave a grunt ofsatisfaction as he paused in dipping water from the spring to relievethem of their burden.
"We need a good bath," said Joe, looking at his stained hands and soiledjacket. "I, for one, will have a final swim."
"You had the _last_ yesterday, I thought," said Dave.
"Yes, but this is an appendix." And in a few minutes he had changed hisfishing for a bathing suit, and was diving off the rocks. Severalothers followed, but the sport was interrupted by the dinner-bell; andJoe hastened to make his toilet and join his friends at the table.
"Well, boys, this has been a successful trip, has it?" asked Mr.Bernard, as he glanced from one bright face to another. "Have you hadall the pleasure you anticipated?"
"Oh yes, and more too," was the enthusiastic answer. "It has been asplendid time--the best camp we ever had."
"And we want to thank you for it," said Joe, leaning forward to look atMr. Bernard, who stood at the other end of the long table. "We don'tknow any other way to express our feelings except by giving threecheers. Will that do?" he asked laughingly.
"Oh yes, that will express them better than anything you could say," wasthe laughing reply.
"I move three cheers for our teachers--the best teachers any boys everhad. Hip! hip! hip!"
Then followed a deafening shout that came from the hearts as well asfrom the throats of the boys.