Part 30 (1/2)
”Why, I'm hungry now!” Wade cried out; ”but I don't see anything to eat but ice and rocks!”
”It's half-past eleven,” Kit announced, looking at his watch.
”Seriously, what do you expect we can get hold of for grub, Raed?”
”Well, seals.”
”Seals!” exclaimed Wade; ”the oily, nasty tras.h.!.+”
”Hunger may bring you to sing a different tune,” Kit muttered. ”I'm not sure that a seal's flipper might not be acceptable by to-morrow morning.”
”There are plenty of kittiwakes and lumne and eiderducks about these islets,” I suggested. ”We can shoot some of them.”
”And we can fis.h.!.+” Weymouth exclaimed.
”Where's your hooks?” said Kit.
That question floored the fis.h.i.+ng project.
”Well, we've got our muskets,” replied Weymouth.
”How many cartridges in all?” Raed asked.
”Let's take account of them. They are like to be precious property.”
”I've got eight,” said Kit, counting them.
”I have seven,” Wade announced.
”Six,” said I.
”I took nine,” Raed observed.
”You gave me five,” reported Weymouth. ”I have used one. Here's the other four.”
”Thirty-four in all,” said Raed. ”Now, boys, these are worth their weight in gold to us. Not one must be wasted.”
”My butcher-knife is like to come into good use.” Donovan remarked, feeling the edge of it.
”Yes; and we've got our jack-knives too,” said Kit.
”How about a fire?” Wade asked.
At that there were blank looks for a moment; till, with a queer grin, Donovan began to fumble in his waistcoat-pocket, and drew out, in close company with a rounded plug of tobacco, seven or eight grimy matches.
”Hurrah!” shouted Kit.
”You've allus been dippin' into me pretty strong about smokin',” said Don, looking around to Raed; ”but you can't say that smokin' don't have its advantages sometimes.”
”That's an argument for the weed that we can all appreciate at present, no mistake,” Raed replied. ”Don, keep hold of those matches, and see that they all strike fire, and I'll never preach to you again, so sure as my name is Warren Raedway.”
_Bang!_ A distant _boom_ from the hated s.h.i.+p, now low down on the sea.