An excursion on the island was by no means a hardship, and but little time was spent setting the galley and cabin to rights after the meal had been brought to an end.
"The key ain't so small but that you can get lost on it an' not half try," Bob shouted, as Jim and Harry took up the oars, leaving Walter to play the part of coxswain. "Keep your bearings well in mind, an' don't go far from the shore."
Jim waved his hand to show that the commands were understood, and then the little boat was propelled swiftly toward the key.
Bob watched the boys until they landed, fastened the yawl by tying the painter around a projecting piece of coral, and disappeared in the underbrush, after which he went aft, where Joe had set up a very shaky work-bench and was busily engaged measuring a plate of metal.
"Them two city-bred youngsters are having the worst end of this queer cruise," the sailor said thoughtfully. "To an old moss-back like me, it don't make much difference whether he's on the Bahamas or the Sandwich Islands, providin' there's plenty of grub; but the lads must come pretty nigh eatin' their hearts out sometimes when they think of home an' the sadness that's in it through their disappearin' so mysterious-like."
"It's tough on them, and that's a fact," Joe replied; "but they keep the trouble to themselves in a way that ought to teach us a lesson. A man, or a boy either, for that matter, should put his best foot forward, no matter how hard a place he gets in, an' then half the battle's won before a blow can be struck."
Joe had no opportunity to continue the subject because Bob walked into the cabin. The conversation was growing altogether too personal to please the old sailor, for he knew perfectly well that he had been more than foolish in giving such free rein to his temper and grief when the perfidy of the strangers was first made apparent, and, like many others, he did not care to be told of his faults.
He proposed to further repair the damage done the Sea Bird by planking outside the canvas, and to procure the necessary lumber he must take it from the bulk-head between the after-cabin and the engine-room.
This he now proceeded to do, and while the pounding and hammering went on below, as if the little steamer was being torn to pieces, Joe continued what was both a difficult and laborious task. A piece of metal such as could have been cut and planed down into the required shape in half a day with the proper tools, he was forced to fashion from thick plates with nothing more effective than a file. Although accustomed to "look upon the bright side of trouble," it was impossible to conceal from himself the unpleasant fact that two or three weeks might elapse before the job could be finished satisfactorily, and during such time a gale from the east might make the Sea Bird a total wreck.
These disagreeable thoughts did not prevent him from working industriously on what seemed an almost endless task, and he had not ceased his labors for a single moment, even though fully two hours were passed, when a loud noise from the shore attracted his attention.