Again assembled for play, they examined the items on hand and John said: “You can’t have ships without material.”
“I thought maybe we could rope together some of these logs the men chopped down last spring; but they look kind of heavy to handle,” replied George calculatively.
“Humph! They’d take a tackle and derrick to move. What we need is just boards and some crosspieces to tie together like a raft. I’ve made ’em in camp,” said Jack.
“Then you can help us make one now,” said Martha eagerly.
“We’ll have to find some boards and small logs then,” replied Jack, looking about in the timber heap for suitable lengths for crossbeams.
“We’ve got some boards about six feet long in the lumber house near here that I heard father say he wouldn’t use till next summer. Then he’s going to lay a new boardwalk from the garage to the barn,” suggested John.
“Just what we need. Come and show me where they are, and we four boys will bring them here while the girls roll those small lengths of timber down to the water-edge,” said Jack.
Soon all hands were working eagerly, nailing boards to some crosspieces, and then roping loose ends securely to the logs so they would not slip off when launched in the creek. The water of the stream was nearly a foot deeper than usual, owing to the heavy rains of the night and morning, so the raft would float easily if it was well built.
The battleship was ready to sail when the luncheon bell sounded over the lawns to call the British and Continental armies to mess. The children looked at each other in disgust, for now it seemed a wholesale waste of time to go home and eat!
“What have you got for tea?” asked Martha at this moment.