He stopped short, and Mr Rimmer looked at him smiling, but Oliver remained silent.
“He thinks it would be a good plan to put some preserving soap on the lugger,” said Panton laughing.
“No, I don’t,” said Oliver, “but I was thinking that it would not be a bad plan to drag the brig’s anchor down here, and get it out in the lagoon, and then fix up the capstan on board the lugger and work it there.”
“No,” said the mate, “it would drag her bows down and wedge her more fast.”
“I had not done,” said Oliver.
“Well, what would you do then?” asked the mate.
“Dig a trench just a little wider than the keel, right away down to the shore, and let the water in at high tide.”
“It would all soak away.”
“At first,” said Oliver. “After a time it would be half sand, half water, and yielding enough to let the keel go through like a quicksand.”
“He’s right,” cried Mr Rimmer, and the men set to work spending two whole days digging what resembled a pretty good ditch in the sand, and leading from the embedded keel right out nearly to the edge of the water.