The boys readily saw the force of the lesson. From that time on it was not necessary to direct the order of events. Each saw to it that the part allotted to him was carried out in a determined spirit.
CHAPTER IV
THE TERRIBLE MONSOONS
Of the two most urgent articles, namely, weapons or the boat, it was decided that the guns should be completed first. The feeling that the time would come when a visit from the savages might be expected at their home, contributed to this decision.
Six barrels, each eighteen inches long, and with a bore three-eighths of an inch in diameter, had been turned out, and several of the stocks had been made at odd times during the evenings. As Harry had sufficient steel left for four barrels more, two days were devoted to boring them out, in the hope that they would ultimately be able to finish them up. They would then have a battery of ten guns, and the necessity of having a number arose from the fact that they were muzzle-loaders, and could not be reloaded rapidly.
A sketch of the gun with the firing mechanism is furnished, in which it will be seen that the firing plug travels in a bore formed through the stock; in a line with the barrel. This plug had an upwardly extending finger, so it could be drawn back against the resistance of the spring. Below the plug was a trigger, with a hook-shaped forward end, in such a position that when the plug was drawn back the hook would catch and hold the plug until the lower right-angled projection of the trigger was pulled back. This would release the plug, and the spring would then be driven forward and explode the cap.
