“Now,” said John, when finally they had solved that problem, “we’ve got to have a sail of some sort.”
“And not a piece of canvas or cloth as big as your hand,” said Rob, ruefully. “I admit that a sail would be a big help, for we could rig a lee-board for the dory. Then, if the wind was right, we could get back to Kadiak in a day, very likely; for we couldn’t have been much more than that time in coming down here without a sail.”
It taxed John’s ingenuity as interpreter for a long time to make the natives understand what he now required. At last, by means of his clumsy attempts to braid a sort of mat out of rushes and grass, they caught his idea and fell to helping him. That week they finished a large, square mat, fairly close in texture, which they felt sure could be used as a square-rigged sail. They prepared a short mast and spars for this, and as they reviewed the progress of their boat equipment they all felt a certain relief, since all of them were more or less familiar with boat-sailing.
“I hate to go away and miss all the foxes we could get at the carcass of that whale this fall,” said Rob one morning, as he stood at the sea-wall and watched three or four of these animals scamper off up the beach when disturbed at their feeding on the carcass. “In fact, I feel just the way we all do, pretty much attached to this place where we’ve had such a jolly good time, after all; but we’ve got to think of getting home some way. We’ve got our water-cask ready, and our sail is done, and we’ve got two or three hundred pounds of fairly good provisions. We’ll pull the dory up to the beach here opposite our camp and get her loaded. What time do you say, John? And what do you think, Jesse? What time shall we set for the start?”
John and Jesse stood, each breaking a bit of dried grass between his fingers as he talked. At last John looked up.
“Any time you say, Rob,” he answered, firmly.
“To-morrow, then!” said Rob.
They stood for a moment, each looking at the other. For weeks they had been in anxiety, for many days extremely busy, most of the time too methodical or too intent to experience much enthusiasm. Now a sudden impulse caught all three—the spirit of resolution which accomplishes results for man or boy. Suddenly John waved his hand above his head.
“Three cheers!” he exclaimed.