“It do be the same; and ’tis myself that feels bad for thim this blissed minute,” the warm-hearted Irish lad answered, as he swung his arms back and forth to induce circulation, and bring a bit more comfort.
“Just as I feared, the growth ashore is too thin to fend off all the wind; and if this keeps up we’ll have the meanest night we ever struck,” Jack continued.
Jimmy knew from the signs that the skipper had an idea. He was used to reading Jack by now.
“What can we be afther doing, I dunno, Jack darlint?” he remarked, or rather shouted; for it was simply impossible to hold a conversation in ordinary tones as long as that howling wind kept shrieking through the mangroves and cypress trees near by.
“Get ashore, and throw up some sort of protection, behind which we can make our fire,” Jack answered, readily enough.
“Hurroo! that’s the ticket! Let’s be afther getting to worrk right away. Sure, annything is betther than howldin’ the fort aboard, and shakin’ enough to loosen ivery timber in the hull of the dandy little Tramp.”
Jimmy was always enthusiastic about everything he went about doing. Consequently, he started ashore immediately, with Jack trailing behind.
When George realized what his chums were doing, he made haste to join them, for he could not but understand that it was mostly on account of the unfortunates aboard the exposed Wireless that the effort to build a fire was attempted.
Many hands make light work; and as there happened to be plenty of wood available near by, a fire was soon blazing. Then Nick, unable to hold aloof any longer, came waddling ashore, to offer his services, when nearly everything had been completed.
Jack had found a means of building a wind shield out of various things, and in the shelter of this they hovered, keeping the fire going at top-notch speed.