Читать книгу Men Against the Sea – Book Set. The Greatest Maritime Adventure Novels: The Bounty Trilogy, Lost Island, The Hurricane, Botany Bay, The Far Lands, Tales of the South Seas… онлайн

692 страница из 953

Presently the carpenter brought the rudder ashore.

“It’s been under heavy strains, sir,” he explained. “The screws holding the gudgeon to the sternpost must have loosened in the wood.”

“Well, what can be done?”

Purcell held out a large staple. “I found this under the floor boards. It will serve.”

“Do your best, and see that it is stoutly set. We must beach the boat and examine her bottom to-day.”

The captain took leave of us and wandered inland to search for fruit. Purcell hammered at his staple on a rock, fitting its curve to the pintle of the rudder. I recommended the invalids to drink frequently of water, taking as much as they could hold, and set them an example by doing the same.

“It’s grub I need, not water!” said Lamb, making a wry face as I handed him a coconut shell full.

“You’ll have plenty of that shortly, my lad!” I said.

Simpson crawled off for another useless attempt to perform the impossible. “Poor devil!” Nelson said. “I’ll soon be doing the same.”

A little before noon the oyster gatherers returned with a bountiful supply. Nelson and I had arranged a hearth of stones, and found strength to gather a quantity of firewood. Bligh was soon on hand to kindle the fire with his magnifying glass and supervise the making of the stew—our first taste of hot food since leaving Tofoa, nearly a month before. The people were gathered in a circle about our fireplace, staring at the pot like a pack of wolves.