force of the gale. A stout pole was then cut, and
lashed between two trees. The sail was thrown over this, and pegged
down at both sides. A fire was lit, with some difficulty. Then a
quantity of ferns and branches of trees were cut. These made a soft
and elastic bed, and the whole party slept heavily until the
morning.

Then they went back to the shore. It was littered thickly with
fragments of wreck, casks, boxes, and other articles. Here, too,
were nearly a score of the corpses of their shipmates. The first
duty was to dig a long shallow trench in the sand, beyond high
water mark; and in this the bodies of their drowned comrades were
laid.

The storm was now breaking. Glimpses of blue sky were visible
overhead, and the wind had greatly abated. The sea upon the reef
was, however, as high as ever. Setting to work, they hauled a large
number of boxes and bales beyond the reach of the waves. One of the
casks contained biscuits and, knocking in the head, they helped
themselves to its contents, and sat down to talk over their
position.

"I am not sure," the mate said, "that our poor comrades there--"
and he nodded towards the grave, "--have not the best of it. The
inhabitants of most of these islands are bloodthirsty pirates who,
if they find us, will either cut our throats at once, or keep us as
slaves. Our only hope is that we may not be discovered, until we
have time to build a boat in which to sail away to Singapore, or
back to Java.

"Had we been wrecked further south, things would have been more
hopeful; for the Papuans are friendly, and inoffensive people.
These islands here are inhabited by Malays, the most bloodthirsty
pirates in the world. However, we must hope that we may not be
found, before we have finished a boat.

"My chest is among those which have been washed up, and there are a
few tools in it. I always had a fancy for carpentry; and it's hard
if, in a fortnight, we cannot make some sort of craft which will
carry us. Indeed, if we content ourselves with a strong framework,
covered with canvas, we may be ready in four or five days."

The men set cheerfully to work, under his directions. In his chest
was a hatchet, saw, and chisels. With these, young trees of
flexible wood were cut down and split. A keel was laid, 25 feet in
length. Cross pieces, 12 feet long, were pegged to this by
trenails--nails formed of tough and hard wood. The cross pieces
were then bent upwards, and fastened to the strips w