, and hunted about for more food.

They discovered some casks of salt beef, and another of biscuits, a drum
of cheese, and several boxes of dried fruit. They had thus no lack of
provisions, but they did not forget the necessity of supplying
themselves with a store of water.

Hunting about, they found two small vessels, which they filled from one
of the water-casks.

There were several oars below, three of which they took and placed in
readiness on deck--one to steer with, and the other two for rowing.

They had, lastly, to rig their raft. A fore-royal already bent was
found in the sail-room, and a spar served as a mast. How to step it,
and to secure it properly, was the difficulty, until Bill suggested
getting a third chest and boring a hole through the lid, and then, by
making another hole through the bottom, the mast would be well stepped,
and it was easy to set it up by means of a rope led forward and two
shrouds aft.

Knowing exactly what they wanted to do, they did it very rapidly, and
were perfectly satisfied with their performance.

The tide must come up again, however, before they could launch their
raft. It would not be safe to do that unless the wind was off shore and
the water smooth. Of this they were thoroughly convinced. Some hours
must also elapse before the hitherto tumultuous sea would go down; what
should they do in the meantime?

Bill felt very unwilling to go away without wishing their friends the
Turgots good-bye. He wanted also to tell Jeannette of the smugglers'
store. The Turgots, at all events, would have as good a right to it as
any one else, should the proper owners not be in existence.

Jack did not want him to go.

"You may be caught," he observed, "or some one may come down and
discover the vessel, and if I am alone, even should the tide be high, I
could not put off."

"But there is no chance of the tide coming up for the next three hours,
and I can go to the village and be back again long before that,"
answered Bill.

At last Jack gave in.

"Well, be quick about it," he said; "we ought to be away at daylight, if
the wind and the sea will let us; and if we don't, I'm afraid there will
be very little chance of our getting off at all."

Bill promised without fail to return. There was no risk, he was sure,
of being discovered, and it would be very ungrateful to the Turgots to
go away without trying to see them again. He wished that Jack could
have gone also, but he a