"We"ll have a look," suggested Cora. Attached to the small galley, in which was a gasoline stove, was a sort of cupboard. An inspection of this did not reveal as much as Cora had hoped for.
"There isn"t a great deal left; is there?" she said.
"I should say not!" cried Jack, peering over his sister"s shoulder.
"Fellows, we"ve got to rustle for the grub! Don"t all speak at once.
Listen to that!" and he signaled for silence, which, when it came, enabled them all to hear the swish and patter of the raindrops on the roof.
"I"ll go," offered Walter. "I"m hungrier than any of you, I guess, and I have a pair of rubbers in my valise."
"Regular fireman you are," commented Jack. "Why didn"t you bring rubber boots?"
"And I see Cora has an umbrella," Walter went on, ignoring Jack"s sarcasm. "I"ll go out in the rain, and--"
"Give a correct imitation of a duck doing its Christmas shopping!" gibed Jack. "Wally, you"re all right!"
"If you had some of his public spirit we"d all be better off," said Cora.
"Oh, don"t um be mad at um"s "ittle bruver!" mocked Jack.
"Oh, quit it!" begged his sister.
"Where can you get anything to eat around here?" asked Paul.
"I don"t know, but I can forage for it. The presence of that fisherman clearly proves that this is an inhabited land, and where there are inhabitants there must be food. I may find a country store, or, if I can"t find that, I"ll find a house, describe our plight in such moving words as I am able to command, and buy what they"ll sell."
"I"d like a cup of tea," murmured Belle. "My nerves--"
"Are nothing to what they"ll be when the ghosts of Camp Surprise begin to make the stairs stand on their head," broke in Jack.
"We have tea," Cora said. "I"ll put the kettle on at once. It seems a pity to have you go out in this storm, though, Walter."
"I don"t mind a bit. I"m glad to do it."
"He"ll say anything as long as there are ladies present," declared Jack.
"But wait until you"re gone. He"ll say you drove him to it."
Walter paid no attention to his tormenting chum, but began talking to Cora as to what best he had better try to get in the way of food, provided he could find a store or a house where some might be obtained.
And then, having donned his rubbers, and taking Cora"s umbrella, Walter set off on his quest. It was still raining hard, but the thunder and lightning had ceased some time since.
While he was gone the others began their preparations for spending the night on board. The girls would occupy the main cabin, where there were four berths. The after part of the boat had been enclosed in heavy curtains when the rain set in, and here the boys could sleep on the locker cushions spread on the floor. They had done it on one or two other occasions.
There were a few blankets, besides those for the bunks, but the boys said they would not need many coverings, as the night was warm.
Cora put the kettle on the gasoline stove, and as soon as it boiled, tea was made. There was condensed milk in the larder, and sugar for those who wished it, though Bess bewailed the lack of lemon, for she wanted to "reduce" she said, and some one had told her lemon juice in tea was helpful.
Cora was setting out what remained of the sandwiches and cake, and Jack was eyeing, rather dubiously, the apology for a meal, when they heard a hail:
"_Corbelbes_ ahoy!"
"That"s Walter!" declared Paul.
"And may he come well-laden!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Jack.
"You poor boy!" exclaimed Cora, sympathetically, as Walter came dripping into the after cabin. "Are you soaked?"
"Not quite so bad as that," he answered, laying down some brown-paper-wrapped bundles.
"Never mind how _he_ is, what about the eats?" asked Jack.
"You are heartless," said Hazel, and then she wished she had not spoken, for Jack flashed a look at her, and whispered:
"Can you blame me for being heart-_less_ where _you_ are?"
"Oh, oh!" she murmured.
"Found a store about half a mile down the-well, I wouldn"t call it a road," and Walter looked at his mud-splashed feet. "Say, rather, down the swamp. Found a store there, and I got a few things."
"I should say you did!" exclaimed Bess, who, with Belle, had opened the packages. "This will be fine," for Walter had purchased jellies, jams, some tinned meat, bacon, eggs and enough canned food, together with some rather doubtful oranges, to make a substantial meal.
"That looks good to me!" declared Jack, while Walter divested himself of his rubbers, and put the umbrella where it would not flood the cabin.
"Oh, and even olives!" gasped Hazel.
"Olives for Olivia," crooned Walter. "Say, Jack, s"pose those overalls you went bathing in would be dry enough for me?"
"Sure! Try "em on. You"ll look sweet in "em."
"I don"t care whether I look sweet as long as I feel dry," retorted Walter.
And while the girls prepared the supper, he changed to the garments Jack had used, they having dried sufficiently.
With the hot tea, and with what Walter had foraged for, a really good meal was made. The young people were hungry, and their appet.i.tes made up for any lack in the nicety of the food.
"It was a regular country store," Walter explained, "but they had some good things."
"And now we have "em," murmured Jack, tipping back on his stool contentedly.
It was still early, for the storm had brought darkness ahead of time, and, unwilling to retire so soon with no very good prospects of sleeping, the boys and girls sat up and talked.
"I wonder what Mr. and Mrs. Floyd will think, when we fail to arrive on time," remarked Cora. "I hope they don"t send telegrams home, telling the folks we have turned up missing."
"I don"t believe they will," argued Jack. "They"ll know the storm delayed us. And in the morning we can send telegrams ourselves, notifying our folks that we"re all right, any reports to the contrary notwithstanding."
The girls pa.s.sed a fairly comfortable, and the boys a rather uncomfortable night, but it could not, as Jack said, last forever, and a bright morning sun made them all forget the discomforts.
Hot coffee, bacon and eggs, that were fresher, Cora said, than the high-priced ones at home, made them all look at the day"s prospect with genial spirits.