“That was a narrow escape!” Kit exclaimed. “It wouldn’t have taken many minutes to break her up, where she lay. But she’s all right now.”
“Yes, the boat is all right now,” Captain Griffith answered; “but that’s about all we can say. There’s no such thing as launching her from these rocks while the wind holds in this quarter. We’re as safely imprisoned in Castle d’If as ever Monte Cristo was. We are in for a night of it here, at any rate; you can make up your minds to that.”
“Hurrah!” Harry Leonard cried, waving his arms. “Ain’t that a jolly lark! We have plenty of provisions and lights and a big tank of water, and I wish the Mistral would last a week.”
But the Captain gave him such a look that Harry suddenly made his face as serious as if the voice had come from the blackened rocks.
“It would make bad work for us if this wind should hold too long,” the Captain said. “But I think we can look for a change in the night; and for the present we have no great cause to complain. We may consider it settled, at any rate, that we must spend the night in the castle. Chief, you and Haines bring along the sail and hang it somewhere to dry; we may need it to-night to lie on. And we will all go back to the court till I organize you into a proper garrison and set the watches.
“Now I am going to establish a headquarters,” he went on, when they were in the court again. “Shall we be romantic and take Monte Cristo’s cell, or be comfortable and camp in Louis-Philippe’s big room?”
“Let us be kings while we can,” the chief engineer answered, as the Captain looked at him for a reply. “It looks a little rheumatic in Monte Cristo’s place, and the other is a fine large room.”
“Very well, then,” the Captain decided; “headquarters established in room No. 14, formerly the residence of the Duke of Orleans. Henry, you are appointed quartermaster; you and Silburn bring up the provisions.”
He led the way again to Louis-Philippe’s cell, and looked about to see what they most needed.
“Chief,” he soon said, “I am going to put you in charge of a foraging expedition. If you will take Haines and Henry with you down to the big yard across the moat, you will find the remains of an old shed or something that has collapsed there. I noticed it as we came in. Let them bring up a good stock of the old boards. It will be cold to-night, and we shall need a fire, and some of them can be made into seats.”