t
her be of shallow draft with plenty of beam. She should, of course, be
decked over, as she might meet with another tornado. The crew would
consist of an officer and ten men. With such a vessel there should be no
difficulty in reaching Port Royal."

The carpenters were at once told off to carry out the work.

"You can have as many hands to help you as you wish," the captain said to
the head of the gang. "What will you do first?"

"I shall get some planks from below, sir, and make a raft. By means of
that we can get on shore and choose the trunks that would be most suitable
for the purpose; we are sure to find plenty about. Then we will find a
suitable spot for a ship-yard, and at once start on the work. I will set a
gang of men with axes to square the trunks and make them ready for sawing.
They need not be more than six inches square when finished, and as I have
a couple of double-handed saws we can soon rip these into planks."

"How long do you think you will be?"

"I should say, sir, with the help I can get, I ought to be ready to start
in less than a week. Of course the ribs will take some time to prepare,
but when I have them and the keel and stem- and stern-post in place the
planking will not take us very long."

"She is to be decked, Thompson."

"All over, sir?"

"Yes, I think so. She may meet with weather like that we have just come
through, and if she is well decked we may feel assured that she will reach
Port Royal. I will leave Mr. Farrance and you to draw out her lines."

"I think," said the first lieutenant, "she should be like a magnified
launch, with greater beam and a larger draft of water, which could,
perhaps, best be gained by giving her a deep keel. Of course she must be a
good deal higher out of the water than a launch, say a good four feet
under the deck. There should be no need to carry much ballast; she will
gain her stability by her beam."

"I understand, sir. The first thing to be done is to form the raft."

The ship's crew were soon at work, and it was not long before a raft was
constructed. A rope was at once taken ashore and made fast to a tree, so
that the raft could be hauled rapidly backwards and forwards between the
ship and the shore.

The carpenter and his mates were the first to land, and while the chief
selected a suitable point for a yard his assistants scattered, examining
all fallen trees and cutting the branches off those that seemed most
suitable. These were soon d