The carpenter has gone over the ship timber by timber-- CARVER Well? JONES It is a long, hard job we have before us. CARVER Oh, too bad, too bad! How long? JONES What with finding the proper timbers ashore, and hewing them to fit our needs, I fear it may well be two months or more before we can leave these waters. CARVER Surely you can make what repairs are necessary in less time--you need not rebuild the ship. JONES Nay--but the ship is sprung at every seam; 'tis nothing but good fortune that has kept it afloat so long. CARVER The seams sprung? JONES Aye--all of them. CARVER Then our stores are in danger of being ruined. JONES Aye, they are even now in such danger they should be unshipped. CARVER Then we must do it--set your crew to the work at once. JONES The crew has more than it can do to repair the ship and make it ready to sail on to Virginia, since you insist on going on. CARVER Then I'll set our company to work on the stores--we must not let them be ruined. JONES Nay, or you'll all face starvation, for you can count on nothing from the land at this late date. CARVER I'll gather the company together at once and set them to work! JONES Aye, do, Master Carver. CARVER We must unship the stores; [_going_] we'll begin at once. [_sound of door opening_] JONES [_to himself_] Mayhap your company will have something to say to that, Master Carver. ANNOUNCER So Carver gathered together his company in the common cabin, and standing before the stern-faced, storm-weary gathering, the Elder spoke: CARVER Men of the Pilgrim company, as no doubt you are all well aware by now, the land we made this morning with such joy and thanksgiving in our hearts is not the land of the Virginia Plantation. ALL Aye, we know as much! So we have heard. [_etc._] CARVER But our ship is sore distressed from the buffeting of the storms, and Captain Jones must needs make repairs before we can sail on to our destination. [_protests and grumblings_] I would it were not so, for I know how weary you find yourselves after the many days upon the sea. But there's naught else to do. PETER [_calling_] Why can't we land here? [_mob assents_] CARVER Nay, nay, it cannot be. This is not Virginia; we have no patent to these lands. We must sail on. The captain and his crew will make their repairs as soon as they can, but our stores in the hold are all of them in danger of spoiling--so we must needs unship them ourselves until such time as we may sail away from here. So let every man prepare himself for work. PETER Master Carver--we are not able to work. [_mob assents_] CARVER I know, but-- PETER And more--'tis not our wish to stay aboard this ship longer--[_mob assents_] CARVER But we can do naught else-- PETER Aye, we kin land here, and find a goodly place to build our homes and prepare against the winter that will be down upon us long before we kin get to Virginia. [_mob agrees heartily_] CARVER