“We are a great way yet from any house,” said Marielle. “I don’t believe that we can get to any.”
“Then we must get under the ends of these boards,” said Royal. “There will be some shelter there.”
Marielle hesitated a moment, thinking whether it would be better to stop and avail themselves of the little shelter which the boards would afford, or to go on in search of a house, or some building, and by so doing run the risk of being caught out where they should be exposed entirely unsheltered to the whole fury of the storm. On the whole, they concluded to stop. They crept in under the end of the pile, where some of the boards projected farther than the rest, thus affording them a little shelter.
“But stop,” said Royal, as if suddenly recollecting himself; “I can make you a shelter.”
He immediately stepped out of his retreat, and climbed up to the top of the pile of boards. He began to take off the boards one by one, and to slide them down on the side of the pile which was opposite to the quarter of the heavens from which the thunder-cloud was coming.
“What are you going to do?” said Marielle.
“I am going to make you a house,” said Royal.
Marielle was afraid to have Royal up so high, especially now that the wind was beginning to blow. She could see vast clouds of dust rising along the line of the roads at a distance; and a violent waving motion commenced upon the tops of the trees, accompanied by a loud, roaring sound. She begged Royal to come down.
Royal said that he would, pretty soon. In the mean time, he pushed down the boards one after another, as fast as he could, running one end of each down to the ground, and planting it at a little distance off from the pile. The other end he left resting upon the edge of the pile. He placed the boards side by side in this position, so that they formed quite a roof, covering and enclosing a pretty large space underneath them. When he had thus run down six or eight boards, he told Marielle and the children that they had better get under them, as it was just beginning to rain faster.
So Marielle and the two children crept under. The space was pretty large, and it was high enough, next to the pile of boards, for them to stand upright. Lucy said that it was a very good garret. Marielle called Royal to come down, and come in too; but he said that he must put some more boards on first.