Building a Raft; Visits to the Wreck.
We first visited the young cocoanut palms from which I cut a supply of cloth for the curtain, to be hung between the two apartments in the house; and while I dug some small roots for thread, to use in sewing the pieces together, Mr. Harborough, under my direction, with his knife shaped from a piece of hard wood, a bodkin, to be used in lieu of a needle in sewing.
Leaving Miss Harborough comfortably ensconced in front of the house, with the materials around her, Mr. Harborough and myself set about the task of reaching the vessel.
"There is but one way to reach her, sir," I said, "and that is by means of a raft. It is the only sort of a craft that we can construct with no tools, and, besides, I believe we can make a raft which will carry the cargo."
"Your experience fits you to take the initiative," he replied. "I am under your direction. You shall lead, and I will follow and obey your instructions."
"I am sure our combined ideas only will produce the best results," I made answer. "But first let us proceed to the bamboo thicket."
As we started to go up stream, Mr. Harborough turned and cast an anxious look toward his daughter.
Noticing this, I hastened to reassure him concerning her safety.
"And are there no wild animals on the island?" he asked.
"I have seen none hereabout," I assured him. I remembered the wild pigs that I had met on my march around the coast, but I thought best not to unduly alarm him by alluding to them.