Andy disappeared for a few minutes. When he came back he carried a wooden board. He grinned at the surprised children.
"I remembered seeing an old shelf in what must have been the kitchen of the farmhouse," he said. "So I went in and wrenched h down from the wall. Tom, where did you put the tools and the box of nails?"
"Down there by our bed," said Tom. Andy picked up a hammer and the box of nails. "Where do you want the shelf?" he asked the girls.
"Over there, at the back of the shack, just about shoulder-high," said Mary. "What a lovely shelf that will make, Andy—it will take everything!"
So it did! Once Andy had nailed it up, the girls arranged the crockery there, the kettle, one or two pans, the field-glasses, camera and other things. The gramophone would not go on the shelf so they put it into a corner.
By this time the shack really looked fine! There were the two neat beds at the sides—the table in the middle, with the stool—the neatly-sanded floor—the shelf at the back with its array of goods! The children felt really pleased with it.
Andy filled the oil-stove. "You could boil us some potatoes tonight for a change," he said to Mary. "You've got a little saucepan, haven't you?"
"Yes," said Mary. "I'll boil them and mash them for you—but they'll taste a bit odd without butter or salt! And we'll open another tin of fruit."
The boys went off to catch fish. The girls busied themselves with fetching more potatoes, more water, and setting the oil-stove going. They felt very busy and rather important.
They had a most delicious supper and enjoyed every bit of it. They didn't even mind going without salt in the potatoes. They ate their supper sitting outside the open doorway of the shack, looking out to the evening sea. The gulls called high in the air, and the splash of the little white-edged waves came to them every now and again.