ng marks that were obviously put upon it with the object of
attracting attention, the person sighting it might reasonably conclude
that it would be worth while to salve it and ascertain its contents.

If the sight of our first call for help drifting placidly seaward across
the lagoon was an agreeable sight, there was another which appeared
later on that was by no means so agreeable--the dorsal fins of several
sharks cruising lazily here and there about the lagoon. I thought I
could make a pretty shrewd guess at the meaning of their presence there,
I therefore devised a number of pretexts for keeping everybody off the
poop, so that there might be as little chance as possible of anyone
beholding the gruesome sight.

There were so many matters demanding immediate attention that it was
difficult to determine which of them should first be taken in hand. But
as the weather was fine, and the barometer stood high, exhibiting a
tendency to rise still higher and thus promising a continuance of fine
weather, it was agreed that, for health's sake, the living quarters
should be cleared of water and thoroughly aired and made wholesome first
of all. This was accordingly done, the task keeping us all busily
employed for the best part of three days. Then provision had to be made
against the further flooding of Mrs Vansittart's cabin and the
drawing-room by rain, for, as has already been mentioned, the skylights
and companion had been swept away, and the corresponding apertures in
the deck were quite open and unprotected.

Very fortunately, a large quantity of timber scantling and planking of
various kinds and dimensions had been shipped by our far-seeing owner,
for the purpose of effecting repairs at sea, if required. As soon as
the cabins had been cleared of water, therefore, some of this timber was
brought on deck; and with the aid of the carpenter's tools, Julius and I
proceeded to plank over the openings, and make them weather-proof by
covering the planking with tarpaulins tightly nailed over them.

When I first invited the boy to help me he refused point-blank, upon two
distinct pleas: the first of which was that he saw no reason why he
should work at all, seeing that I was there to do what needed to be
done; while, in the second place, if he chose to work at all he would do
only such work as he pleased, and in any case was not going to be
ordered about by any darned Britisher. So I just let him severely
alone, and for the