by James Otis
CHAPTER VIII.
SUSPENSE.
How long they remained on the shore in an apathy of despair not one ofthat party ever knew.
Jake was the first to arouse himself, and, understanding that work isthe best remedy for mental troubles, he said, with a great effort tospeak cheerily:
"See here, lads, this will never do if we want to get out of the scrape.We've got to stay here till the other boats come along, and it isnecessary to make some preparations for living. The goods must be stowedwhere they won't be destroyed, an' there's plenty to keep us busy forthe rest of this day."
"When do you think the other boats should arrive?" Neal asked.
Jake realized fully how slight were the chances that either of thecrafts would come to that exact spot, even if they were all afloat; buthe had no idea of adding to his companions' grief, therefore hereplied:
"It may be forty-eight hours. You see some or all of them might have putout a sea anchor when it blew so hard, for they carried heavier loadsthan we did, and while layin' still we hummed right along, consequentlyits difficult tellin' when to expect 'em."
"Of course they are bound to land here?"
Jake hesitated only for an instant before he decided that under thecircumstances a lie was absolutely necessary, and then repliedpositively:
"Of course. Where else would they come?"
"I was afraid there might have been some little difference in thesteering."
"We all were obliged to keep dead before the wind, therefore ought tocome out pretty nigh alike."
This reply appeared to satisfy Neal, and he set about cheering Teddy,who finally arose to his feet and signified his willingness to dowhatever Jake should propose as necessary.
The engineer made many suggestions which he would not have thought ofhad he been alone, or in the company of those who did not need such atonic.
All the goods were first carried from the beach to the edge of the thickforest a hundred yards away, and over the collection was constructed ashelter to protect it from the dew. The fragments of the boat werecarefully gathered up and deposited in the same place.
Then a quantity of such pieces of dead branches and decaying wood ascould be found near at hand was stacked close by the beach, to serve asa signal in case a vessel or the boats should heave in sight.
When this had been done it was noon, and Jake set about preparing aselaborate a meal as their store of provisions would permit, saying as hesummoned them to the repast:
"Now boys, I want you to fill yourselves up so's to be ready for hardwork in case anything is to be done when the others get here. Afterwardswe'll take a snooze, which is the proper thing to do at the middle ofthe day in a hot climate, and then there must be some exploring, for wewant to find out if we are really on the island of Cuba."
The boys' hunger was very much greater than their grief, and withoutfurther urging they did full justice to the meal, Teddy saying as hehelped himself to the third slice of preserved meat:
"It wouldn't be a bad idea for us to hunt a little while for somethingin the shape of a vegetable, or we shall soon run short of provisions."
"It's the very plan I was thinking of. In these woods we should be ableto find many things that would help out on the bill of fare; but in casethat can't be done, you boys must turn hunters. It's mighty lucky youhave your guns and plenty of ammunition."
This last suggestion pleased the boys wonderfully and if Jake had notinsisted very strongly that they sleep during the hottest portion of theday, both would have started into the forest without delay.
After lying down in the shade slumber came to their eyelids quickly, andwhen he was convinced they were across the border of dreamland, Jakearose softly, saying to himself as he stole up the shore:
"This goes ahead of any scrape I ever had the bad luck to fall into, an'I'd give all I've got to know exactly where we are, for I'm certain itain't Cuba. If two days pass without our sightin' a sail I must fix upsome story to make the boys eager to tramp across the country. That'llbe better than stayin' here where, 'cordin' to my idea, there's mightysmall chance of our finding anybody who can help us."
He walked along the shore fully two miles; but there was no diversity ofscene. The coast strewn thickly with coral rocks, and backed by a denseforest, was all that could be seen either above or below the place wherethey landed.
Then Jake forced his way through the tangled undergrowth, experiencingno slight difficulty in so doing, and the vegetation confirmed hisbelief that the little craft had been carried by the wind to some landfurther south than was at first supposed.
On the water not a sail was in sight, and when Jake returned to theplace where the rude shelter had been put up he was in even a moredespondent mood than Teddy and Neal had been.
"I s'pose we must wait here a couple of days to satisfy the boys theother boats won't come, an' then it's a case of strikin' across thecountry with good chance of wanderin' around until fever or wild animalsputs an end to it."
His companions were yet asleep, and he lay down beside them in order toprevent any suspicion that he had been spying out the land.
Under other circumstances the monotonous roar of the surf would havelulled him to rest; but now his anxiety was so great that, despite allefforts, his eyes would persist in staying open very wide, and he spentthe remainder of the siesta trying in vain to decide what was best todo.
Not until late in the afternoon did the boys awaken, and then Neal saidas he sprang to his feet:
"It won't do for us all to sleep again at the same time. If the boatscame in sight since we've been lying here it is very probable fatherhas missed us, for more than likely they would try for a better place toland further up or down the coast."
"You needn't worry about that, lad. I've kept honest watch, and not somuch as the wing of a sea gull has appeared above the horizon."
Teddy, remembering what Jake had said about hunting, began to clean theguns, for both had been thoroughly wetted during the landing, and Nealwalked slowly along as he looked out over the water intently.
Before going very far he saw the engineer's footprints on the sand, andshouted excitedly:
"Some one has been here! Perhaps father arrived before we did."
"There's no such good luck," Jake replied. "While you fellows weresnoozing I went a long bit in that direction."
"Then it's only a waste of time for me to go over the same ground," andNeal retraced his steps, adding when he gained Teddy's side, "I'll do myshare of that work."
"You spoke too late, for I have finished. Now let's see what can be donein the way of hunting; a roasted bird will be a big improvement oversalt meat, and I count on finding plenty of game."
"All right, provided Jake is willing to stay here alone."
"What is to prevent me from joining the party?"
"Someone must remain in case the boats heave in sight," Neal replied ina positive tone, and the engineer said carelessly:
"I didn't think of that; but it'll be all right, I'll keep my eyespeeled," and he added to himself, "I wish he wasn't so certain about theothers coming, an' then the disappointment wouldn't be quite so great."
Jake cautioned the boys against going very far from the beach because ofthe danger of getting lost in the forest, and as they disappeared amongthe underbrush he threw himself upon the ground, unable longer to fightagainst the despair which was rapidly overpowering him.
He understood perfectly well how great would be the danger in attemptingto make their way through the wooded portion of the country at thisseason of the year, when fever germs lurked in every spot where stagnantwater was to be found, and knew at the same time how extremely difficultit might be to find a place offering any more advantages than did thenarrow strip of sand on which they had been thrown.
"It wouldn't be quite as bad if I knew where we are," he said tohimself. "It can't be possible that we're on the coast of South America;but if that should prove to be the case we'd make a pretty mess of it bytrying to cr
oss."
Then came the thought that perhaps it would be better to travel up thecoast, and as to the advisability of this he studied a long whilewithout being able to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion.
Two hours were spent in this profitless speculation, and then the boysreturned, bringing with them two large hoccos, birds looking not unlikewild turkeys.
"We shan't starve while such game as this is to be found," Neal criedtriumphantly. "I believe we might have shot a dozen by staying longer;but there was no sense in doing so just for the sake of killing. It willbe a hard job to eat all this meat before it spoils."
"How far in did you go?" Jake asked, rising to his feet quickly andtrying to banish from his face the look of dejection, lest hiscompanions should suspect how desperate he believed the situation to be.
"Not more than half a mile," Teddy replied.
"What is the general appearance of the country?"
"The undergrowth is very dense in places, and above here, a little tothe right, we came upon what seems to be a swamp. It was there we foundthese birds, and something else which is not quite so promising."
As he spoke Teddy pulled up his shirt sleeve, and pointed to severalblack specks on his skin.
"They are ticks, or garrapatas, as the Spaniards call them," Jakereplied, as he opened his pocket knife. "The sooner you get rid of themthe better, for they will make what is likely to be a bad sore unless acordial invitation to leave is extended."
"Are you going to cut them out?" Teddy asked in alarm.
"Not exactly; but you won't get rid of the pests without considerablepain, for they have the faculty of crawling under the skin mighty fast."
Jake set about the work in a methodical manner, causing Teddy to cryaloud very often as the insects were pulled or dug from the flesh.
Then Neal was called upon to undergo the same operation, and not untilnearly an hour had passed were the hunters free from the painful pests.
It was now nearly sunset, and all hands set about preparing the hoccosfor roasting, by first plucking the fowls, removing the intestines, andsticking them on a sharpened stake in front of the fire.
It was not an entirely satisfactory method of cooking, for while oneportion was done brown, another would be hardly warmed through; but, asTeddy said, "it went a long way ahead of nothing," and all three workedindustriously, turning the game or piling on the fuel until, about anhour after sunset, the task was completed.
By this time the castaways were decidedly hungry, and the half-cookedfowls tasted better than had the most elaborate meals on board the SeaDream.
