“Without tea, Shaddy?”
“Who says so, my lad? You wait, and we’ll find cocoa and mate, and who knows but what we may hit upon coffee and chocolate? Why, I won’t swear as we don’t find sugar-cane. ’T all events, we’re going to try.”
“Well, Naylor, you are putting a different complexion on our prospects,” said Brazier, who had joined them.
“Yes, sir, white one instead of a black one. Next thing is to get a roof over our heads ready for the heavy rains, and then we’ve got to save all the feathers of the birds we catch or shoot for feather beds. We shall have a splendid place before we’ve done, and you can mark out as big an estate as you like. But come along; I’m thinking that fish must be done.”
Upon Shaddy sweeping its envelope clean of the embers, he found it was quite done, and soon served it out brown and juicy upon a great banana-like leaf.
“Now, gentlemen, grace! and fall to,” said their cook merrily. “Nuts afterwards when I’ve found two big stones.”
There was not much of the delicious fish left when a quarter of an hour had passed, and then Rob uttered a grumble.
It was very good, he said, only they had no salt.
“If you’d only spoken a bit sooner, Master Rob, I could have got you some pepper,” said Shaddy, “but salt? Ah, there you beat me altogether. It’s too far to send down to the sea.”