After lunch, work was resumed. Strips of painted canvas, smeared with a sticky substance smelling of turpentine, were laid over the holes and tacked down with the brads. Over this canvas the dismembered bottom-boards were firmly screwed. In less than an hour and a half this part of the work was completed.
The boat was then turned over on her keel, and the holes levelled flush with the inside planking by means of clay found in the bed of the little stream. Over this additional canvas was tacked and pressed into position by strips of wood from the bottom boards, struts being fixed between them and the under side of the thwarts to counteract the pressure of the water.
Well before sunset the task of making the boat water-tight was completed, and Peter surveyed the result with intense satisfaction.
"To-morrow," he declared to Olive, who had been working as steadily as anyone, "to-morrow we'll test her. I don't think she ought to leak very much."
"Aren't we going to explore the island, Peter?" asked the girl wistfully.
Mostyn capitulated.
"Yes, certainly, if you wish," he replied. "We can do that easily in a few hours. I don't suppose you'll find it particularly interesting. You see, the weather looks as if it will be fine for some days, and I naturally want to take advantage of it. What do you say to a jaunt before breakfast? We could take something to eat with us, of course. That will leave the forenoon clear for testing the boat."
This suggestion was acted upon, and soon after dawn on the following day Peter and Olive set out on their tour of exploration.
It was a very enjoyable walk for both: to Mostyn because of the companionship of a jolly, unaffected girl; to Olive, because of the novelty of it all. But there was nothing of an adventure about it. The island was devoid of anything of a romantic nature. There were no caves, no traces of former inhabitants. It would have taken a high-flown imagination to weave a thrilling story round that isolated chunk of earth rising out of the Indian Ocean.
They saw no signs of animal life, beyond a few turtles basking on the coral sands, and an occasional lizard scooting for shelter under the trees. There was not a bird to be seen or heard.