cut wood."

"We didn't get in here any too soon," Frank told them; and upon
listening they could hear the rain falling heavily on the broken deck of
the derelict.

When one is securely sheltered that sound never strikes awe to the soul;
in fact, it seems almost a merry tune, like that played upon the attic
roof, in the good old days when you visited grandpa out on the farm, and
could lie in bed, feeling glad you were not out in that downpour.

"Let her rain all she wants to," said Teddy; "it can't hurt us, because
I don't think any kind of a downpour would raise the whole bay enough to
float us off this sandy beach."

The others laughed at his remark. Teddy was so ready to conjure up
troubles that never could have any real excuse for existing.

"What I'm provoked about," Jack ventured, "is that we didn't get a
chance to signal to that nearest vessel before the fog cut her out
again. But let's hope they'll hang around somewhere till the rain's
over, and we can let them know the fix we're in."

"Huh! s'pose they don't know anything about wigwagging with the flags?"
Jimmy put in. "Vessels have a way of talking across miles of water, but
then their code is a whole lot different from the one scouts use ashore.
We might be able to let 'em know we wanted some help, and would pay
well for it. Money talks when a lot of other things are like mud."

Willing hands made light work, and a fire was soon burning in the old
remnant of a stove that had once done duty in the midst of ice-packs,
when the wreck was a gallant vessel in search of oil or, perhaps,
sealskins.

After all, they had little reason to complain. The rain pattered on the
deck, and, in a few places, leaked through; but there was plenty of dry
space, so that none of the boys need get sprinkled. As for fuel, they
had abundance of it, so long as their camp hatchets kept an edge, and
their muscles held out for service.

"Not so bad, is it, Jimmy?" Teddy wanted to know, as they tried to make
themselves as comfortable as possible, by hunting up all sorts of things
capable of being turned into rough seats.

Of course, these were of no value whatever, for in frequent raids on the
part of wreckers, whoever they may have been, everything worth taking
had long since been carried away. Indeed, Frank declared he was puzzled
to know why they had overlooked the broken stove; and all of them agreed
it must have been by mistake.

"Well, I should say not," was the reply, o