“I don’t know about that,” responded Mr Meldrum. “You said just now, when you returned in the jolly-boat, that all the bows and forward parts of the vessel had been washed to pieces; and yet, of all that wreckage not a single scrap came ashore here to tell the tale before you brought the news:— what do you think of that, eh!”
“Be jabers, it’s all that blissid current that takes it back agin! Sure an’ I’ve sane it floating in foreninst the land myself.”
“Well, we’ll have to try and baulk the current, then,” said Mr Meldrum. “We must keep a good look-out on the ship; and, as soon as we see that the stern has broken up, the jolly-boat will have to be manned and cruise about to pick up and tow ashore whatever timber and stray planks may be seen.”
“Right you are, sorr,” replied Mr McCarthy. “I’ll say to that!”
“Say, mister,” interposed the American, who had remained silent during the deliberations of the other two, although he was supposed to be present at the council and a deliberative member. “How’ll the grub last all that air time! Twenty-seven folks all told, as I’ve kalkerlated ’em, take a powerful lot of feedin’ in four months!”
“Ah!” said Mr Meldrum, “that’s a serious consideration. However, with that lot of penguins there,”—and he pointed to the little colony of the quaint birds, which were still croaking and grumbling at them, not having yet become accustomed to their strange visitors,—“I don’t think we’ll starve! Besides these gentry, too, there will be lots more sea-fowl, and perhaps some land ones as well. Still, it will be advisable, Mr Lathrope, as you have introduced the subject, to take stock of all the stores we have, and Master Snowball must be instructed to be not quite so lavish in his display at dinner-time as he was yesterday.”
“Sorry I spoke,” said Mr Lathrope, rather chop-fallen at the way in which his suggestion had been taken. “I didn’t want you to cut short the vittles, but only to kinder kalkerlate!”
“I’m just doing that,” replied the other, “and we’ll see what we’ve got to depend upon at once.”
As the American had remarked, they were just twenty-seven souls in all: Imprimis, Captain Dinks—whose wound evidently was progressing favourably, for he had lost all those feverish symptoms that were apparent the day previous and was now in a sound sleep, after eating some thin soup which Snowball had concocted for him by Mr Meldrum’s direction—Mr McCarthy, Adams, Frank Harness, Ben Boltrope the carpenter, and Karl Ericksen the rescued Norwegian sailor, besides Snowball and thirteen others of the crew of the Nancy Bell, making twenty of those belonging to the ship; while, of the passengers, there were six—Mr Meldrum, Kate, Florry, Mrs Major Negus and her son and only hope Maurice, and lastly, though by no means least, Mr Lathrope—the grand total, with the stewardess, who must not be forgotten, coming exactly to seven-and-twenty.
Now, to feed all this large family, they had brought ashore on the raft three barrels of salt beef and four of pork, six hams uncooked, besides the one which Frank had removed from the steward’s pantry along with the round of spiced beef on his visit to the ship in search of the cat; some four dozen eight-pound tins of preserved meats and vegetables; about a couple of hundredweight of flour; five bags of biscuit; a few bottles of spirits; and sundry minor articles, such as pickles and salt, and one or two pots of preserves—not a very considerable amount of provender, considering the number of souls to be supplied, and the length of time Mr Meldrum thought it wise to estimate that the provisions would have to last.