CHAPTER IV
THE LANDING
This burst of high spirits showed how light-hearted the castaways were in the face of difficulties, for what lay before them and how they were to reach the island required all their powers of thought and action.
"How do you propose to get the cutter over the side?" asked Mr. McKay.
"By means of one of the derricks," replied Ellerton promptly.
"Quite so; but where is the power required to turn the winches to come from? We've no steam at our command, you know, and these winches are not adapted to manual power."
The apprentice's face clouded; he thought for a few minutes, then—
"We can top one of the derricks and rig up a tackle, sir."
"Good!" replied Mr. McKay. "But what is the weight of the boat?"