"LAY ON!"
When this short and stirring tale of a tail had been concluded, the Captain's voice was heard.
"Now for bed!" he ordered, winding up his watch, whose golden hands pointed to nine o'clock.
Partially undressing, they tucked themselves into their quilts and blankets on the crackling straw, and silence followed. Sleep was slow to close the eyes of the younger ones, who were kept awake by their strange situation; and Rex, lying at Katy's feet, frequently raised his head as the roaring wind shrieked through the tall trees outside, or rattled a loose board in the roof with a strange noise.
The first one to awake next morning was Aleck, who looked at his watch by the glimmer of the coals, and was surprised to find it after eight o'clock, though only a gray light came through the little window of the cabin. Creeping out, he raked the embers together, laid on some fresh wood, and hung the kettle on the spike. Then he called his companions, who sat up and rubbed their eyes.
"Katy, you lie still till the boys go off. We'll bring you some water, and then you can have the house to yourself for a while. Get out of this, you fellows! Jim, bring a pail of water for the cook. Tug, you and I will go and see how the boat has stood the night."
Two minutes later they were gone. After Jim had brought the fresh water (he was slow about it, because he had to rechop the well-hole) the girl sprang up to make herself neat, and was busy at breakfast when the boys pounded the door like a battering-ram with the axe-handle, "so as surely to be heard," and begged to know if they might come in.
"Good-morning!" she greeted them. "How is the weather?"
"Weather!" exclaimed Tug, spreading his hands before the fire, and working his ears out from underneath a huge red comforter just as I have seen a turtle slowly push his head beyond the folded skin of his neck. "Weather! It's the roughest day I ever saw. I don't believe old Zach himself could skate a rod against that wind."