The Voyages of the "Ranger" and "Crusader": And what befell their Passengers and Crews.Kingston, William Henry Giles
General
The Voyages of the "Ranger" and "Crusader": And what befell their Passengers and Crews.
Kingston, William Henry Giles
Seafaring life -- Juvenile fiction
Parties went out daily to dig for roots. Traps were constructed for
catching birds; at low water, mussels were sought for on the rocks; and
more hooks being made, the number of fishermen was greatly increased.
The days, however, were short, and the weather frequently so very bad
that they had literally to make hay while the sun shone. As provisions
could be obtained they were sent by sea to the shipbuilders, and when
the wind blew too strong to allow the boat to make the passage, they
were sent overland.
Harry's cares, in providing food and maintaining order among so mixed an
assemblage, were greatly lightened by the assistance offered him by Mrs
Morley and Mr Paget, as well as by Charles, Tom Loftus, and Jack
Ivyleaf, who also did their best to instruct and amuse the people, old
and young, when their hours of labour were over. The school was kept
with less difficulty than before, as several books had been saved from
the "Crusader." Harry's great care was to keep all employed; indeed, he
foresaw that it would be necessary for every one to exert himself to the
utmost to obtain a sufficient supply of food for the support of their
lives during the winter. Happily, the weather was not nearly so cold or
stormy as he had expected to find it; and though occasionally it froze
hard, the frost seldom lasted long, while the snow which fell quickly
disappeared again from the lower ground.
Nothing was seen for some time of the mutineers. It was supposed that
they were living a savage life by themselves in the woods, unwilling to
submit to the discipline to which they would have been subjected in the
settlement. One day, however, when Captain Twopenny and several of the
other gentlemen were starting on a shooting expedition, they caught
sight of a man in the neighbouring wood, whence he had apparently been
watching the settlement. As soon as he found that he was discovered he
ran off, and disappeared before they were able to overtake him. This
circumstance gave Harry some little anxiety, though, as it was known
that the only arms the men possessed were their knives and an axe or
two, they were not likely to prove formidable enemies. The
probabilities were that the man only intended to steal into the village,
and carry off any provisions on which he could lay his hands.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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