"Why?"
"You will note that it is too white or milky-like. This shows too much lime and consequently it is very brittle."
"Suppose, on the other hand, there was too little lime, what would be the result?"
"We should then have a glass which would not hang together at all. In the one case, as with the present sample, with too much lime in it, we have made a product which is closely allied to the alkaline base; and if we had, on the other hand, too little lime, we should have something which is nearly like quartz, hence not suitable for our purpose."
"It seems, then, we have to do in this case just as Red Angel did, make a test sample?"
This allusion to their pet caused a smile all around.
Since the trip made by our colonists two months before they made no effort to gain any additional knowledge of their island. What they really knew of the country, aside from two of the trips made in the interior, under very unfavorable circumstances, was of no value as a means of locating the natives.
That the island was inhabited there could no longer be any reason to doubt. The fire plot on the banks of the Cataract River, the lights near the woods beyond the West River, the finding of the arrows, and the mysterious use of the boat which had so strangely disappeared from the falls in South River, to say nothing of the removal of the flag and flagstaff, were evidences which could not be disregarded.
The further investigations which they must make for their own safety was one of the impelling steps which determined them to build another boat. The discovery of the wrecked portion of the life-boat and the decision to utilize the recovered portion for the new craft had facilitated their preparations somewhat, but there was still a great deal of work to do.
They had six imperfect guns, as they called them, mere pistols, muzzle-loaders, with barrels eight inches long, and the powder was not the best which could be made. Everything was crude and imperfect, and to boldly venture out among savage tribes with such an equipment would not be wise.