Instantly, she had every one’s attention—as she knew she would.
“The wood-boxes need a new supply and so many valiant Woodcrafters about here ought to be valiant woodchoppers for a change!” said she.
“Oh piffle! what a game!” sniffed Paul.
The others all laughed at his disgusted look but Fred said, “We’ll do it, mother! Of course it’s a great sacrifice of valuable time, but we would throw it away recklessly for you!”
“I am happy to have such generosity shown me, seeing that I am the only one who ever sits before the big fireplace!” laughed Mrs. Remington.
As she seldom had time to sit down with the others when they told stories and played games before the great fire, the children appreciated the sarcasm. And the following morning every available container was filled full of chopped wood.
The morning was foggy so, the wood-boxes attended to, the boys fished off the float-stage for lobster bait. Sculpins and flounders were caught and by this time the mist began lifting. The Captain thought they might row out to the traps to bait them and before the last lobster trap was baited and heaved over the side of the boat, the sun shone out. A little breeze from the west soon scattered the remaining curls of fog and the day turned out to be dazzlingly bright.
For all their patient working the boys found nothing but crabs and star-fish in the traps that morning, and they began to fear that the lobster supply around Sunset Island had been exhausted.
“I’ll tell you what we’ve got to do, we’ve got to change the traps and put them over towards the Isleboro side,” said Dudley. “I saw a lot of trap-buoys over that way.”
“Don’t you know those fishermen would gladly set their traps here if it wasn’t for us being on the island?” asked Billy.