en were even now cutting down the towering Norfolk pines and
hewing out the staunch timbers for the ship that was to sail out one day
in quest of the world they had left behind them. But these enterprises
provided work for men only. The women, in the main, were without
occupation. With the approach of winter the men in active control of the
camp's affairs realized that something would have to be done to relieve
the strain,--at least, to lighten it until spring came to the rescue
with toil in the fields and gardens.

A system of exchange was being worked out. As has been mentioned before
in this chronicle, the people of the steerage were the plutocrats. Their
hoardings represented real money, the savings of years. When it came to
an actual "show-down,"--to use Percival's expression,--these people
who were poor in the accepted sense, now were rich. They could "buy and
sell" the "plutocrats" of another day and another world.

The theory that one good turn deserves another was an insufficient
foundation upon which to construct a substantial system of exchange.
It is all very well to talk about brotherly love, said Percival. The
trouble is that certain brothers are for ever imposing upon other
brothers, and the good turn does not always find its recompense.
Socialism, he argued, is a fine thing until you discover that you are
not alone in the world. Brotherly love began with Cain and Abel, and
socialism is best exemplified by a parlour aquarium. Nothing happens to
disturb the serene existence of the goldfish until somebody forgets to
feed them, and then they begin nibbling at each other.

"You mend my fence, I'll mend yours," is an ideal arrangement until you
find it is "our fence" and doesn't need mending.

To Landover, Block and other financial experts was delegated the power
and authority to perfect a fair, impartial monetary system. First of
all, they arbitrarily declared the dollar, the peso and the shilling to
be without value. "Time" script was to be issued by the governing board,
and as this substitute would automatically become useless on the day the
castaways, were discovered and taken off the island, no citizen was to
be allowed to reduce or dissipate his hoard of real money.

Landover's proposal that a central depository be established for the
purpose of holding and safe-guarding the possessions of each and every
person was primarily intended to prevent the surreptitious use of real
money. This project met wi