XIII
CAL’S EXPERIENCE AS THE PRODIGAL SON
Breakfast next morning was not a very satisfactory meal. There was plenty of fish and game, of course, but there was little else. The coffee supply had been used up, but the boys regarded that as a matter of no consequence.
“Coffee is a mere luxury anyhow,” Dick said, “and we can go without it as well as not. It isn’t like being without bread or substitutes for bread. If we had some sweet potatoes now, or some rice—”
“The which we haven’t,” interrupted Cal. “No more can we get any here. As for corn meal, we have enough for one more ash cake, but it is full of weevil and, therefore, when we consume it we shall be eating the bread of bitterness in an entirely literal sense. For quinine biscuit would taste like cookies as compared with weevely corn bread. You were wise in your generation, Dick, when you surreptitiously placed that tin of ship biscuit on board, but your imagination lacked breadth and comprehensiveness. It was not commensurate with our appetites, and so the ship bread is all consumed and would have been if you’d brought a barrel of it on board instead of that little tin box full. You neglected that, however, and we must endure the consequences as best we may.”
“For the present, yes,” said Larry; “but not for long. We must make all the haste we can till we get to Beaufort and stock up again.”
“I know a trick worth two of that,” Cal said apart to Dick, but he did not explain himself. Dick had found out, however, that Cal’s knowledge of the region round about them and of the tortuous waterways that interlaced the coast in every direction was singularly minute and accurate. It was not until that morning, however, that Cal explained to him how he had come to be so well versed in the geography and hydrography of the region. It had been decided by Captain Larry that before leaving their present camp that day the company should cook enough food to last for a day or two, so that they might not have to waste any time hunting or fishing while making as quick a trip to Beaufort as they could. As there was very little game left after breakfast, Cal and Dick set out with their guns to secure a supply of squirrels and whatever else they could find, while Larry and Tom should load the boat and catch some fish.
During this little shooting expedition some small manifestation of Cal’s minute information prompted a question from Dick.
“How on earth, Cal, can you remember every little detail like that? And how did you learn so much about things around here, anyhow?”