The captain said he would carry the smaller of the goats alone,
leaving the two Rovers to carry the larger game between them. After
a rest and another look around the vicinity, they started for the
boat and reached it after a walk which almost exhausted every one of
the party.
"I'll be glad enough to lay around our camp and rest for a day,"
announced Sam. "This task of exploring is not as easy as it looks."
A little later they were in the boat and rowing back to where they
had left the others, little dreaming of the strange events that had
happened in their absence.
CHAPTER XVIII
UNEXPECTED VISITORS
It had been decided by the castaways to enlarge one of the rooms of
the house, and as soon as the captain, Tom, and Sam had departed on
their exploring tour, Dick and old Jerry set to work to cut down the
posts necessary for the building.
While this was going on the three girls were by no means idle. There
were meals to get, dishes to wash, and it had been found that outdoor
life was very rough on clothing, so there was a good bit of sewing
and darning to be done. Fortunately all of the girls were handy with
a needle, so that a rent in a coat or a dress received immediate
attention.
"Now you must make the alteration in the house very nice," said Dora
to Dick. "Remember, we want a regular Queen Anne building, with round
bay windows, and--"
"And inlaid floors," finished Dick, "not to mention steam heat, and--"
"Mercy on us!" burst in Grace. "Don't mention steam heat in this
climate."
"Of course we want hot and cold water in the kitchen," put in Nellie.
"What sort of a mansion would it be without hot and cold water,--and
a dumb waiter from the cellar, too," and then all began to laugh.
"I know what I should like," said Dora, after a pause. "That would
be a refrigerator."
"If we had the ice," finished Nellie. "Dick, isn't there any ice on
board of the _Golden Wave_?"
"By Jove! I think there is," cried the oldest Rover boy. "I never
once thought of it before."
"If there is, I wish you'd bring some the next time you go over. We
have lemons, and we could make delicious lemonade."
"And we could make orange ice, too," put in Grace. "I know there was
an ice-cream freezer on board of the ship. It was in the cook's galley."
Old Jerry was coming to the house with a small tree he had cut down,
and Dick sounded him about the ice.
"To be sure there was ice, several tons of it," said Jerry. "It was
stowed away near the bow. I don't believe it's all melted, either."
"I'm going over to see," cried Dick. "We've got plenty of lemons and
sugar; and lemonade, not to mention orange ice, would just strike
the spot in this awfully hot weather."
But as it was now noon, with the sun directly overhead, Dick decided
to remain in the shade until four or five o'clock. Dinner was had,
and then the work of enlarging the house went on as before.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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