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

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Panting, and wet from head to foot, we had barely the strength to make our way back to the sand. Once there, we sank down side by side. After a long silence Nelson looked up at me with a wry smile.

“That was tragedy! There was a fortnight’s food in the beast, Ledward!”

“All of that,” I replied. “She may have laid some eggs. Let us go and search.”

Nelson shook his head. “No. I surprised her as she was beginning to dig. She had just come up from the sea, for her back was still wet.”

We fell silent once more, and at last he said: “We’ll say nothing of this to the others, eh, Ledward?”

We walked slowly back across the island, halting on a bit of rising ground to rest. A little to the left we could see the others gathered on the beach near the launch. Nelson lay back for a moment, his hands behind his head, and stretched out his legs at full length.

“You’d best follow my example,” he said. “It may be the last chance we shall have.”

“The last? Surely not!” I exclaimed.

“Bligh thinks we shall be clear of the coast by to-morrow or the day after.”