"Now for prayers and breakfast," I called, "and then off to work. I must have our cargo landed in time to get the boats off with the next tide."
By dint of downright hard work, we accomplished this, and I got on board with Fritz as soon as they were afloat; the rest turned homeward, but Jack lingered behind with such imploring looks, that I could not resist taking him with me.
My intention had been simply to take the vessels round to the harbor in Safety Bay, but the calm sea and fine weather tempted me to make another trip to the wreck. It took up more time than I expected, so that, when on board, we could only make a further examination of the cargo, collect a few portable articles, and then avail ourselves of the sea breeze, which would fail us later in the evening.
To Jack the pleasure of hunting about in the hold was novel and charming, and very soon a tremendous rattling and clattering heralded his approach with a wheelbarrow. He was in the highest spirits at his good fortune in having found such a capital thing in which to bring home potatoes.
He was followed by Fritz, whose news was still more important. He had found, carefully packed and enclosed within partitions, what appeared to be the separate parts of a pinnace, with rigging and fittings complete, even to a couple of small brass guns. This was a great discovery, and I hastened to see if the lad was right. Indeed he was, but my pleasure was qualified by a sense of the arduous task it would be to put such a craft together so as to be fit for sea. For the present we had barely time to get something to eat and hurry into the boat, where were collected our new acquisitions, namely, a copper boiler, iron plates, tobacco graters, two grindstones, a small barrel of powder, and another of flints, and two wheelbarrows, besides Jack's, which he kept under his own special care.
As we drew near the shore, we were surprised to see a number of little figures ranged in a row along the water's edge, and apparently gazing fixedly at us. They seemed to wear dark coats and white waistcoats, and stood quite still, with their arms dropping by their sides, only every now and then one would extend them gently, as though longing to embrace us.
"Ah! here at last come the pigmy inhabitants of the country to welcome us!" cried I, laughing.
"Oh, father!" exclaimed Jack. "I hope they are Lilliputians! I once read in a book about them, so there must be such people, you know, only these look rather too large."
"You must be content to give up the Lilliputians and accept penguins, my dear Jack," said I. "We have not before seen them in such numbers, but Ernest knocked one down, if you remember, soon after we landed. They are excellent swimmers, but helpless on land, as they can neither fly nor run."
We were gradually approaching the land as I spoke, and no sooner was the water shallow, than out sprang Jack from his tub, and wading ashore, took the unsuspecting birds by surprise, and with his stick laid half a dozen, right and left, either stunned or dead at his feet. The rest escaped into the water, dived and disappeared.