“And a teakettle and a tea pot and a coffee pot,” added Sam.
“And some pans and an alcohol stove that burns funny white cubes of fuel,” proceeded Will.
“How wonderful!” cried Bunny’s mother. “Why, we can really camp out now on our wonderful island and live here in the grass hut. It isn’t going to be half as bad as I thought. I didn’t see how we were going to have anything hot, but with tea and coffee and warm soup—for I suppose there is canned soup in the boat—we shall be very well off.”
“Yes’m, there’s canned soup in the boat lockers,” said Will. “Captain Ward always has his lifeboats stocked with enough to keep shipwrecked folks comfortable. It was him as put in the alcohol stove, for he knew that out in an open boat you can’t build a fire.”
“Well, as long as we must stay here,” said Mr. Brown, “we had better get the things out of the boat and see about a meal. It will soon be time for supper. We’ll also get up the steamer rugs and see about making some beds for the children,” he added.
“Sam and I will cut some palm leaves and grass and put them in the hut,” offered Will. “They’ll make a soft bed with a rug on top.”
“You’d better put some grass under your boat, if you are going to sleep beneath it,” said Mrs. Brown.
“That’s what we’ll do,” agreed Sam.
Mr. Brown looked off across the ocean. Only a faint smoke from the Beacon was now to be seen. She was going farther and farther away every minute. Mr. Brown could not understand it.
Soon the island was a busy place, with the sailors bringing the things up out of the boat and with Mrs. Brown getting ready to cook a meal over the alcohol stove. It was really rather a large stove and two or three things could be heated at once in special pans made to fit closely together.