Still the men grumbled. They were all out of spirits, and had made up their minds that the ship was lost. They had begun to wander about, as sailors generally do under such circumstances, one in one direction and one in another, when Harry, who had gone to the boat, exclaimed, “See, here are some fishing-lines. Who put them there I do not know, but we shall not be in want of a dinner if we make use of them.”
“This is a godsend,” observed Dickey.
“Everything good is sent by God,” said old Tom; and he called to the men to come and assist him in launching the boat.
A short search along the shore enabled them to find mussels and other shell-fish, which they hoped would serve for bait; and, shoving off, they went down towards the mouth of the harbour, where they quickly caught as many fine fish as they could eat. Returning to the beach, sticks were collected, and a tinder-box, which was in the tub with other articles always carried in a whale-boat, enabled them to light a fire.
An ample meal raised their spirits. They once more embarked and pulled down to the mouth of the harbour, in the hope of seeing the ship standing towards the island. The heavy surf which rolled in, however, made it impossible for them to get out. Old Tom and the two boys, therefore, landed and climbed to the summit of a high cliff overlooking the ocean. Hence they gazed round in every direction, but no ship was in sight. In the far distance they could discern here and there some dark rocks, over which the sea broke in masses of foam. Harry’s heart sank within him as he thought that possibly the Steadfast might have been driven upon those fearful rocks, when, as he knew too well, she must speedily have gone to pieces without a chance of any one on board escaping. He scarcely liked to ask Tom Hayes what he thought, but he observed that the old man looked unusually grave as his eye turned in that direction.
“This is no place for us to build our hut on, though it is the best spot for a look-out,” observed old Tom, as he surveyed the rough broken ground all around them. “We must take it by turns, however, to spend the day here, though it will be best to take up our quarters near where we first landed.”
They waited for some time watching the dark, heaving sea, which still rolled and tumbled in huge billows before them; but not even a speck which might be the topsails of the Steadfast appeared above the horizon. At length they returned to the boat.
The men had, in the meantime, caught a large supply of fish, and, in better spirits than before, they pulled back to the head of the bay.
Old Tom advised that they should put up some shelter for the night; and while one of the men cooked the fish, the remainder cut down some young trees and a quantity of boughs, with which they formed a tolerably substantial arbour, while some dried leaves and smaller boughs supplied them with as good beds as they required.
“If we had a good stock of grog, and some bread and potatoes, we should be as happy as princes,” observed one of the men.