They stepped the mast, and as soon as they had pulled the boat clear of the harbour, set sail, and in less than an hour had rejoined the party at the house.

  William had brought up the crayfish, which had only one claw, and Juno put on another pot of water to boil it, as an addition to the dinner, which was nearly ready. Tommy at first went with his sister Caroline to look at the animal, and as soon as he had left off admiring it, he began, as usual, to tease it; first he poked its eyes with a stick, then he tried to unfold his tail, but the animal flapped, and he ran away. At last he was trying to put his stick into the creature’s mouth, when it raised its large claw, and caught him by the wrist, squeezing him so tight that Tommy screamed and danced about as the crayfish held on. Fortunately for him, the animal had been so long out of water, and had been so much hurt by the iron spike of the boat-hook, that it was more than half-dead, or he would have been severely hurt. Ready ran to him, and disengaged the crayfish; but Tommy was so frightened, that he took to his heels, and did not leave off running until he was one hundred yards from the house, while Juno and Ready were laughing at him till the tears came into their eyes. When he saw the crayfish on the table, he appeared to be afraid of it, although it was dead.

  “Well, Tommy,” said Mr Seagrave, “I suppose you won’t eat any of the crayfish?”

  “Won’t I?” replied Tommy. “I’ll eat him, for he tried to eat me.”

  “Why did you not leave the animal alone, Tommy?” said Mr Seagrave; “if you had not tormented it, it would not have bitten you; I don’t know whether you ought to have any.”

  “I don’t like it; I won’t have any,” replied Tommy. “I like salt pork better.”

  “Well, then, if you don’t like it, you shall not have it forced upon you, Tommy,” replied Mr Seagrave; “so now we’ll divide it among the rest of us.”

  Tommy was not very well pleased at this decision, for he really did wish to have some of it, so he turned very sulky for the rest of the dinner-time, especially when old Ready told him that he had had his share of the crayfish before dinner.

  Chapter Forty Seven.

  As soon as the meal was over, Mr Seagrave and Juno assisted them in carrying down the canvas and poles for the tent, with shovels to clear away, and the pegs to fix the tents up properly. Before they started, William observed, “I think it would be a good thing, if Ready and I were to take our bedding with us, and then we could fix up one tent this evening, and sleep there; to-morrow morning we might set up the other, and get a good deal of work over before we come back.”

  “You are right, William,” replied Ready; “let us see what Juno can give us to eat, and then we will do as you say, for the sooner we are all there the better.”

  As Mr Seagrave was of the same opinion, Juno packed up a piece of salt pork and some flour-cakes, which, with three or four bottles of water, they took down to the boat. Ready having thrown in a piece of rope to moor the boat with, they shoved off and were soon through the reef, and, after a smart pull, they arrived again at the small harbour.

  As soon as they had landed all the things, they made the boat fast by the rope, and then carried a portion of the canvas and tent-poles up to the first copse of trees, which were the guavas; they then returned for the remainder, and after three trips everything was up.

  “Now, William, we must see where to pitch the tent; we must not be too near the cocoa-nut grove, or we shall have too far to go for water.”

  “Don’t you think that the best place will be close to the bananas? the ground is higher there, and the water is, you know, between the bananas and the yams.”

  “Very true, I think it will not be a bad place; let us walk there first, and reconnoitre the ground.”

  They walked to where the bananas were now throwing out their beautiful large green leaves, and decided that they would fix the tents upon the north side of them.

  “So here let it be,” said Ready; “and now let us go and fetch all the things; it is a nice dry spot, and I think will do capitally.”

  They were soon hard at work, and long before sunset one tent was ready, and they had put their bedding in it.

  “Well, now, I suppose you are a little tired,” said Ready; “I’m sure you ought to be, for you have worked hard to-day.”

  “I don’t feel very tired, Ready, but it’s not time to go to bed yet.”

  “No; and I think we had better take our shovels and dig the pits for the water, and then we shall know by to-morrow morning whether the water is good or not.”

  “Yes, Ready, we can do that before we get our supper.”

  They walked to where the ground between the bananas and yam patch was wet and swampy, and dug two large holes about a yard deep and square; the water trickled in very fast, and they were up to their ankles before they had finished.

  “There’ll be no want of water, Ready, if it is only fit to drink.”

  “I’ve no fear of that,” replied Ready.

  They returned to the tent and made their supper off the salt pork and flour-cakes, and then lay down on the mattresses. They were soon fast asleep, for they were tired out with the hard work which they had gone through.

  The next morning, at sunrise, they were up again; the first thing they did was to go and examine the holes they had dug for water; they found them full and running over, and the water had settled quite clear; they tasted it, and pronounced it very good.

  As soon as they had washed themselves, they went back and made their breakfast, and then set to work to get up the other tent. They then cleared all the ground near the tents of brushwood and high grass, and levelled it nicely with their shovels inside.

  “Now, William, we have another job, which is to prepare a fireplace for Juno: we must go down to the beach for stones.”

  In another hour the fireplace was completed, and Ready and William looked at their work.

  “Well, I call this a very comfortable lodging-house,” said Ready.

  “And I am sure,” replied William, “it’s very pretty. Mamma will be delighted with it.”

  “We shall have no want of bananas in a few weeks,” said Ready; “look, they are all in blossom already. Well, now I suppose we had better leave everything here, and go back. We must have another trip this afternoon, and sleep here to-night.”

  They went down to the boat, and sailed back as before; by ten o’clock in the morning they had regained the house, and then they made arrangements for their work during the remainder of the day. It was agreed that the provisions necessary for a day or two, the table and chairs, the cooking utensils, and a portion of their clothes, should be taken round that afternoon, that Ready and William should come back early the next morning, and then they should all set off together through the wood to the new location. The sheep and lambs (for they had four lambs), the goats and kids, were to be driven through the wood by Mr Seagrave; William and Ready and the dogs would be very useful in driving them. As for the fowls and chickens, it was decided they should be left, as Ready and William could look after them on their occasional visits.

  Chapter Forty Eight.

  The boat was well loaded that afternoon, and they had a heavy pull round, and hard work afterwards to carry all the articles up. William and Ready were, therefore, not sorry when their work was done, and they went to bed as soon as they had taken their supper.

  At sunrise, they went back to the bay in the boat, which they hauled up, and then proceeded to the house, where they found that everyone was ready to start. Mr Seagrave had collected all the animals, and they set off; the marks on the trees were very plain, and they had no difficulty in finding their way; but they had a good deal of trouble with the goats and sheep, and did not get on very fast. It was three hours before they got clear of the cocoa-nut grove, and Mrs Seagrave was quite tired out. At last they arrived, and Mr and Mrs Seagrave could not help exclaiming “How beautiful!”

  When they came to where the tents were pitched by the side of the bananas, they were equally pleased: it was quite a fairy spot. Mrs Seagrave went into her tent to repose after her fatigue; the goats and sheep were allowed to stray away as they pleased; the dogs lay down, panting with their long journey; Juno put Albert on the bed while she went with William to collect fuel to cook the dinner; Ready went to the pits to get some water, while Mr Seagrave walked about, examining the different clumps of trees with which the meadow was studded.

  When Ready returned with the water, he called the dogs, and went back towards the yam plantation. Tommy followed them; the dogs went into the yams, and were soon barking furiously, which pleased Tommy very much; when, of a sudden, out burst again in a drove all the pigs, followed by the dogs, and so close to Tommy that he screamed with fright, and tumbled head over heels.

  “I thought you were there, my gentlemen,” said Ready, looking after the pigs; “the sooner we fence you out the better.”

  The pigs scampered away, and went into the cocoa-nut grove as they had done before. The dogs followed the pigs, and did not return for a long while afterwards.

  It was late before the dinner was ready, and they were all very glad to go early to bed.

  At day dawn, William and Ready had again started, and walked through the cocoa-nut grove back to the house, to bring round in the boat the articles of furniture and the clothes which had been left. Having collected everything in the house, and procured some more pork and flour from the storehouse, they completed the load by spearing one of the turtles which remained, and putting it into the bottom of the boat; they then set off again for their new residence, and arrived in time for breakfast.

  “What a delightful spot this is!” said Mrs Seagrave. “I think we ought always to make it our summer residence, and only go back to the house during the rainy season.”

  “It is much cooler here, madam, during the summer, and much more pleasant; but we are more protected in the house by the cocoa-nut grove.”

  “Yes; that is true, and it is very valuable during the rainy season; but it makes it warmer in the summer time. I like the change, Ready, and shall be sorry when we have to go back again.”

  “Now I must go, and help Juno to cut up the turtle,” said Ready. “We must make our larder among the banana trees.”

  “But what are we all to do, Ready?” said Mr Seagrave. “We must not be idle.”

  “No, sir; but I think we must give up this day to putting everything to rights, and making everything comfortable inside the tents; to-morrow we will commence the ditch and hedge round the yam plantation. We need not work very hard at it, for I don’t think the pigs will venture here again, as I mean to tie up all the dogs round the yam patch every night, and their barking will keep them off.”

  “That will be a very good plan, Ready. What beautiful food there is for the sheep and goats!”

  “Yes; this must be their future residence for the best part of the year. I think to-morrow we will begin a piece of the ditch, and show William how to put in the cuttings of prickly pear for the hedge, and then, I should propose that you and I go to the cove to examine the stores and select what it will be necessary to bring round. I think you said that you must go yourself?”

  “Yes, Ready, I wish to go. When we have made our selection, I will return, and then you and William, who is more used to the boat than I am, can bring the stores round. I presume we shall not bring them here?”

  “No, sir, we will take them round to the storehouse. When we have done that job, we must then commence our alterations and our stockade.”

  Chapter Forty Nine.

  The next morning they went with their shovels to the yam plantation, and commenced their work. As the ground was soft and swampy, the labour was very easy. The ditch was dug nearly a yard wide, and the earth thrown up on a bank inside. They then went to where the large patch of prickly pears grew, and cut a quantity, which they planted on the top of the bank. Before night, they had finished about nine or ten yards of the hedge and ditch.

  “I don’t think that the pigs will get over that when it is finished,” said Ready, “and William will be able to get on by himself when we are gone, as well as if we were with him.”

  “I’ll try if I cannot shoot a pig or two,” said William.

  “Let it be a young one, then; we must not kill the old ones. Now I think we may as well go back. Juno is carrying in the supper.”

  Before Mr Seagrave and Ready started on the following morning, the latter gave William directions as to the boat. The provisions and the knapsack having been already prepared, they took leave of Mrs Seagrave, and set off, each armed with a musket, and Ready with his axe slung over his shoulder. They had a long walk before them, as they had first to find their way back to the house, and from thence had to walk through the wood to the cove.

  In two hours after leaving the house they reached the spot where they had first landed. The rocks near to it were strewed with timber and planks, which lay bleaching in the sun, or half-buried in the sand. Mr Seagrave sat down, and sighed deeply as he said, “Ready, the sight of these timbers, of which the good ship Pacific was built, recalls feelings which I had hoped to have dismissed from my mind; but I cannot help them rising up. The remains of this vessel appear to me as the last link between us and the civilised world, which we have been torn from, and all my thoughts of home and country, and I may say all my longing for them, are revived as strong as ever.”

  “And very natural that they should, Mr Seagrave; I feel it also. I am content, it is true, because I have nothing to wish or look forward to; but still I could not help thinking of poor Captain Osborn and my shipmates, as I looked upon the wreck, and wishing that I might take them by the hand again. It is very natural that one should do so. Why, sir, do you know that I feel unhappy even about the poor ship. We sailors love our vessels, especially when they have good qualities, and the Pacific was as fine a vessel as ever was built. Now, sir, I feel quite melancholy when I see her planks and timbers lying about here. But, sir, if we cannot help feeling as we do, it is our duty to check the feeling, so that it does not get the mastery over us. We can do no more.”

  “Very true, Ready,” said Mr Seagrave, rising up; “it is not only useless, but even sinful to indulge in them, as they only can lead to our repining at the decrees of heaven. Let us now examine the rocks, and see if anything has been thrown up that may be of use to us.”

  They walked round, but, with the exception of spars and a barrel or two of tar, they could find nothing of value. There was no want of staves and iron hoops of broken casks, and these, Ready observed, would make excellent palings for the garden when they had time to bring them round.

  After they had returned, they sat down to rest themselves, and then they went to the tents in the cocoa-nut grove, in which they had collected the articles thrown up when the ship went to pieces.

  “Why, the pigs have been at work here!” said Ready; “they have contrived to open one cask of flour somehow or another; look, sir — I suppose it must have been shaky, or they could not have routed into it; the canvas is not good for much, I fear; fortunately, we have several bolts of new, which I brought on shore. Now, sir, we will see what condition the stores are in. All these are casks of flour, and we run no risk in opening them, and seeing if they are in good order.”

  The first cask which was opened had a cake round it as hard as a board; but when it was cut through with the axe, the inside was found in a good state.

  “That’s all right, sir; and I presume the others will be the same; the salt water has got in so far and made a crust, which has preserved the rest. But now let us go to dinner, and to work afterwards.”

  Chapter Fifty.

  After dinner they resumed their labour. “I wonder what’s in this case?” said Mr Seagrave, pointing to the first at hand. Ready set to work with his axe, and broke off the lid, and found a number of pasteboard boxes full of tapes, narrow ribbons, stay-laces, whalebones, and cottons on reels.

  “This has been sent out for some Botany Bay milliner,” said Mr Seagrave. “I presume, however, we must confiscate it for the benefit of Mrs Seagrave and Miss Caroline. We will take them to them as soon as we have time.”

  The next was a box without a lock; the lid was forced up, and they found a dozen half-gallon square bottles of gin stored in divisions.

  “That’s Hollands, sir, I know,” said Ready; “what shall we do with it?”

  “We will not destroy it, Ready, but at the same time we will not use it but as a medicine,” replied Mr Seagrave; “we have been so long used to spring-water, that it would be a pity to renew a taste for spirituous liquors.”

  “I trust we shall never want to drink a drop of it, sir, either as a medicine or otherwise. Now for this cask with wooden hoops.”

  The head was soon out, and discovered a dinner set of painted china with gold edges.

  “This, Mr Seagrave, may be useful, for we are rather short of plates and dishes. Common white would have served as well.”

  “And be more suitable with our present outfit,” replied Mr Seagrave.

  “Here’s a box with your name on it, sir,” said Ready; “do you know what is in it?”

  “I have no idea, Ready; but your axe will decide the point.”

  When the box was opened, everything appeared in a sad mouldy state from the salt water which had penetrated; but on removing the brown paper and pasteboard, it was found to contain stationery of all sorts, and, except on the outside, it was very little injured.

  “This is indeed a treasure, Ready. I recollect now; this is paper, pens, and everything requisite for writing, besides children’s books, copy-books, paint-boxes, and a great many other articles in the stationery line.”

  “Well, sir, that is fortunate. Now we may set up our school, and as the whole population of the island will attend it, it will really be a National School.”

  “Very true, Ready. Now for that cask.”