Part 32 (1/2)

”If you will go with me,” Weymouth said, nodding over to where I was enjoying the fire. ”Two may perhaps find what I want sooner than one.”

I followed him.

”My idea is,” said he, turning when we were off a few rods, ”to get a flat, _hollowing_ stone,--'bout as big over as a milk-pan, say; kind of hollowed out on the top side, just so grease won't run off it. We can set that up on small rocks, and let the fire run under. It'll soon get hot: then grease it, and break the eggs into it just as they do into a spider. You see?”

I saw it,--a very reasonable project. The only difficulty was to find such a stone. To do that we separated. Weymouth followed out along the sh.o.r.e, while I climbed up among the crags. There were plenty of flat rocks; but to find one sufficiently spider-shaped for our purpose was not so easy. At length I came upon one--a flake of felspar of a dull cream-color--hollowed enough on one side to hold a pint or upwards. But it was heavy: must have weighed fully a hundred pounds. I called to Weymouth: he was out of hearing. Nothing to do but carry it.

So, after some mustering of my spare muscle, I picked it up, and, going along to a favorable spot, succeeded in getting down to the beach with it, whence I toiled along to our camp-fire. Weymouth had got there a little ahead of me with a flat stone worn smooth by the waves. It was not so thick as mine, nor so heavy: it was a sort of dark slate-stone. Forthwith a discussion arose as to the merits of the two _spiders_; which was finally decided in favor of the one I had found, from its being the whitest and cleanest-looking. Meanwhile Donovan had been feeding the fire so profusely, that all hands had been obliged to get back from it. Animal fat, like this of the walrus, makes an exceedingly hot flame. Three flat stones were set up edgewise, and the spider set on them. The flaming meat was then thrust under it so as to heat the spider. From its thickness, it took some minutes for it to become heated through; but, in the course of a quarter of an hour, Kit p.r.o.nounced it ready. Weymouth cut out a chunk of walrus-blubber, with which he basted it, the melted fat collecting in a little puddle at the bottom.

”Now for the eggs!” he exclaimed.

Raed handed them to him, one by one; while he broke them on the edge of the butcher-knife, and dropped a half-dozen into the novel frying-pan.

”Better be getting your plates ready!” he shouted, turning them over with the knife to the tune of a mighty frizzling.

We all took the hint, and scattered to find flat stones for platters.

'Twas a singular a.s.sortment of kitchenware that we re-appeared with a few minutes later. Taking up the fried eggs with his knife, Weymouth tossed us each one, which we caught on our _plates_. Another batch was then broke into the spider, fried, and distributed like the first.

”Now then!” cried Kit. ”Draw jack-knives, and dine!”

Several mouthfuls were eaten in silence.

”What think of 'em?” Weymouth asked, casting a sly glance around. ”How do they go?”

”Rather oily!” grumbled Wade.

”Awful fres.h.!.+” Kit complained.

”Not a dust of salt in this camp!” Raed exclaimed.

”We never can live without any salt,” said I. ”Nothing will relish so fresh as these eggs.”

”But where's your salt coming from?” Kit demanded.

”Plenty of it in the sea,” said Donovan. ”Might boil down some of the salt water.”

”If we only had a kettle to boil it in,” Raed added.

”Well, there's the old tin dipper in the boat that we used to bail out the rain-water with,” replied Don. ”We could keep that boiling. Might boil away six or seven quarts by morning. That would give quite a pinch of salt.”

”That's the idea!” said Kit. ”Let's get it going as soon as we can.

Wash it out, and dip it up two-thirds full of water, Don. I'll fix a way to set it over the fire.”

Meanwhile Weymouth was frying another dozen of eggs.

”I think I can suggest a better way of evaporating the sea-water,”

remarked Raed as Donovan came up with the two-quart dipper of water.

”You see that little hollow in the ledge just the other side of the fire: that will hold several pailfuls, probably. The fire on the rocks must make that warm: you see if it isn't, Wash.”

I was on that side. The ledge for several yards from the blaze was beginning to get warmed up.