"Oh, if only somebody was with us," sighed Nellie.
By the time Lesher and Baxter had finished eating the storm was on them in all of its violence. The wind shrieked and tore through the jungle behind them, and often they could hear some tall tree go down with a crash.
"This will tear our flag of distress to shreds," said Nellie. "And just when we need it so much, too!"
"I am thinking of the future as well as the present," said Dora. "What a rough time there will be if Lesher brings those other sailors here. Some of them were heavy drinkers like himself, and only two or three were Americans."
The storm had whipped the waters of the bay into a fury, and the rain was so thick that to see even the island on which the wreck rested was impossible.
"Dick can't come now," said Dora. "A boat on the bay would surely go down."
Having finished the meal, Lesher and Baxter sat down in the living room to smoke and to talk over the situation. The mate continued to drink, and half an hour later he fell asleep, sitting on the bench, and with his head on the table.
"The beast!" said Dora, as she peeped out at him. "Well, there is one satisfaction," she continued: "he cannot harm us while he is asleep."
"You girls better have your own dinner," called out Baxter. "I aint going to eat you up."
"We will get our dinner when we please," said Nellie, as she came out. "We are not afraid of you, Dan Baxter."