MAROONED AT QUASI
It was a bright, sunny day that followed—a day offering no suggestion of the convulsion of the night before. There was a good sailing breeze blowing in from the sea. It gave Dunbar the wind over the starboard quarter for his voyage to the village, and promised to be nearly abeam for his return.
“The dory will take me there and back by noon or a little later,” he called to the others as the sails filled and the boat heeled over to port.
The Rutledge boys had urged him to take the money they offered him for the purchase of supplies, but he had declined.
“I have a plenty of my own,” was his answer, “and whatever I can buy up there I’ll bring back as my contribution to the general welfare.”
It was idle to argue the matter, and not very safe either, Dick thought, for in their intercourse with him the boys had learned that with all his kindly good-nature, Dunbar was exceedingly proud and very sensitive.
When the dory had gone, the boys set to work with a will upon the task of re-establishing Camp Quasi. Tom was sent out after game. Dick, who was the cleverest of them all in using tools, and especially his jackknife, busied himself in fitting new handles into their two shovels. With these and the bait pails for excavating tools, the three who remained in camp toiled diligently in removing the sand from their well.
Tom returned a little before noon, bringing in game enough of one kind and another to keep the company in meat for two days to come.
There was no sign of Dunbar and the dory as yet, and as the rest were hungry, it was decided that Cal should cook dinner at once, while Tom worked at the well in his stead. The cooking occupied a considerable time, and it was two o’clock in the afternoon when the tired boys finished eating. They had not slept since the earthquake at ten o’clock the night before; they had worked hard during the night in an endeavor to save what they could of their belongings, and they had worked still harder ever since dawn. Moreover, the excitement had been even more wearying than the work. Now that it had passed away and its victims had eaten a hearty dinner, the desire for rest and sleep became irresistible.
Cal had made measurements and reported that two hours more of digging, or perhaps even less than that, would give them a water supply once more. At Larry’s suggestion, therefore, the worn-out fellows decided to sleep for an hour or two.