For themselves, he baited and cast his hooks, and landed half a dozen fish as fast as he could haul them out. Their fresh meat supply would have to wait until Macro went out to the wreckage and their minds could be at ease as to the safety of their headquarters. The sea outside was still too high for any possibility of his going that day, and fortunately, thanks to their new source of supply, they could wait with equanimity. Water they had caught in plenty in the buckets slung under the scuppers. "He's alive at any rate," said Wulfrey, when he went down to breakfast. "So much the worse for us," said The Girl. "He's been fasting, I should say, by the way he has gone off after rabbits. We ate our first ones raw, I remember." "Savages!" "Savage with hunger. We had had nothing to eat but shell-fish and sea-weed for days." "Horrible!--raw rabbit and sea-weed!" "We had no means of making fire, no shelter. We slept out on the sands, and were glad to be simply alive." "I'm truly thankful you had risen to a higher state before I came." "So am I. We were not good to look at. We were as men who had died out there among the dead ships' bones and been born again on this sandbank, lacking everything. Fortunately for us the years that had gone before had been unconsciously making provision for us, and here were houses ready-made and waiting, and out there more than we could use in a lifetime." They saw the mate return after a time with his supplies, and he never showed head again all day. Wulfrey let The Girl keep a look-out, and tried himself to get some sleep, in anticipation of the night-watch which he saw would be necessary. "He will probably go out to the pile tomorrow," he said. "He must be out of flour and probably of rum. Then we can take a run ashore ourselves. When he gets back he will probably be too tired to be up to any mischief." "I wish he would tame down and let us have peace, or else go and get himself killed," she said anxiously. "We can't go on like this for ever." "I'm afraid he won't oblige us either way. We can only hang on and hope for the best, and keep our eyes open." His watch that night passed undisturbed. In the morning, as he expected, Macro set off for the wreckage; and, taking some food with them, they went ashore for a long day's ramble. "It is good to feel the width of land under one again," said The Girl, fairly dancing with delight. "I am very grateful for the ship, but truly it is small and cramping." "Sandhills are good for play-time, but you'd miss the ship when bed-time came. It's cold work sleeping on the sand." "Almost as bad as sleeping on a broken mast. Which way shall we go? You are quite sure he has gone to the wreckage?" "Quite sure. I watched him out of sight. Besides, I am sure he had to go."