“Let us wait here for to-night, at all events,” said a young fellow named Hare, who was one of the surveyors, and was now having his first taste of Western life, having been born and bred in the East, where he had left his wife and his people when he got his appointment as surveyor in the government service.
Buffalo Bill agreed that this was a good idea, and all of the party made themselves as comfortable as they could for the night. They were too tired to talk, and soon after dark nearly all of them were fast asleep.
The border king and Captain Meinhold did not think it was necessary to set a watch during the night, for they had satisfied themselves that the island was absolutely uninhabited.
Besides, all the men were too tired to do sentry duty, unless their lives certainly and surely depended upon it. Even then it was doubtful if they would have been able to keep awake.
In the morning they were all feeling better for their long and refreshing sleep, but a new difficulty presented itself. Their stock of provisions was running perilously low, and the island afforded apparently no chance of replenishing it.
This naturally hastened the departure from the island, and the men rowed lustily for the mainland, still out of sight. The bad weather had abated, though the sea was still by no means smooth. The work was hard, but not by any means so exhausting as on the previous day.
“It looks as if we shall get through our troubles after all,” said Captain Meinhold to Cody.
“I’m sure I hope so,” said the king of the scouts. “When we hit the land we must try to find out where we are, and then make a bee line for Fort McPherson. It won’t be an easy journey, I’m afraid, in the wretched condition we are in. Why, we haven’t even got a rifle with which to shoot game.”
Needless to say, Cody did not let the men overhear this last rather gloomy view of the case. He whispered it to Captain Meinhold. To them he kept a face as smiling and a manner as cheery as ever.
All day the men rowed, but when darkness fell they were still out of sight of land.