Adjoining the site of the tent, and under the lee of a sort of gable-end of the cliffs, a piece of ground had been cleared of the snow close to a freshwater tarn some little distance above the sea-shore, where it was not affected by the tide; and here the land had been levelled in the form of a parallelogram, some thirty feet long by twenty wide, round which a trench had been dug about a foot deep.
At the four corners of this, stout posts, selected from some of the deck-beams of the Nancy Bell that had been secured for the under-structure of the raft, were set up in holes excavated of such a depth that they would firmly resist any lateral pressure brought to bear against them by the wind; and, round the top of these uprights, a scantling of deal had been nailed on, thus making the framework of a good-sized cottage.
Mr McCarthy was quite surprised at the progress made.
“You’ve been pretty busy, sorr,” he said. “Be jabers, you’ll have a cabin built in no time!”
“Yes,” replied Mr Meldrum, “we have got along; but you must remember we’ve had fourteen hands at work besides the carpenter, including Mr Lathrope and myself; and such a number of men, when their labour has been systematically divided, can accomplish a good deal in a short time. I wish we had some more timber, though! We’ve got the roof yet to make, and a partition or two in the inside for the proper division of the building. I have planned out a separate room for the ladies, and one for us men; in addition to a general sort of apartment, where we can all have our meals together, and which will serve as a store-room as well.”
“Sure an’ you don’t think, sorr, we’ll have to live here long!” said the first mate, a little alarmed at the magnitude of the other’s plans.
“Indeed I do,” answered Mr Meldrum. “It is now only the beginning of August, which is the worst season here, as I mentioned to poor Captain Dinks; and the winter will probably last from four to five months; during which time, according to all accounts that I’ve read of the place, we may expect to experience the most bitter weather, and have to depend entirely on our own resources; for, none of the whaling schooners that go seal-hunting in these parts ever visit the island, as far as I know, before November or December—and even then they go generally to the eastern side and do not come here! Before that time, however, that is as soon as the snow melts and the spring sets in, we’ll have to try and cross over the land to one of the harbours which the whalers frequent, and which I’ve got marked on the chart. Until that period, Mr McCarthy, as you must perceive, we will have to remain here; so it is best for us to try and be as comfortable as we can under the circumstances. Last night, as you know, it was cold enough in all conscience; but that will be nothing to what we may expect later on when the regular gales and sea-fogs and snowstorms set in, and they continue for weeks, I believe!”
“Begorrah, it’s a bad look-out!” said the mate,—“a bad look-out, anyway!”
“It is; there’s no good of our blinking the fact,” replied the other,—“but, still, other shipwrecked crews have borne worse hardships than we’ll have to contend with, and, you know, what men have done men may do! I wish we had some more of the poor old ship’s planks, however. Besides their being necessary for completing our house properly, we shall want a large supply of them for fuel during the next four months.”
“Sure and they’ll float ashore,” said the mate.