"Even then we would have a bother to get rid of the water," replied Terence. "Still, we"ve done very well up to now."
"There"s all that railway line material underneath the iron sheeting; that will want some shifting."
"We"ll do it some time, but now we"ll get off home."
It seemed natural for the lads to talk of the camp as "home," for already they were becoming attached to the free, yet none the less comfortable, manner of living.
"Wait while I get the sewing machine from the fo"c"sle. But you may as well come, too, and we"ll take both of them."
With this, Ellerton, accompanied by Terence, made his way for"ard. In the gloom of the stuffy fo"c"sle, the sight of which forcibly reminded him of his quarters on the _Tophet_, Ellerton found the required articles.
"Hullo, here"s a find!" he exclaimed, holding up a concertina.
"Sling the blessed thing overboard," replied Terence laughing. "If you take it ash.o.r.e it"s bound to make trouble in the camp."
"It may come in handy."
Ellerton looked upon everything as being likely "to come in handy." He would have overstocked the island with useless things in the hope that they might be of use at some distant date. In this case, did he but know it, the concertina was fated to play a most useful part.
"All right, then," a.s.sented Terence good-humouredly. "To look at us now one would think we were going to run old women"s sewing meetings and popular Sat.u.r.day night concerts."
With the gig in tow, the lads returned to the sh.o.r.e, putting off the unloading of their boat till the evening, though they brought the sewing machines with them to the tent.
"Now I can get on," exclaimed Mr. McKay. "It"s slow work lying here and unable to do a decent bit of hard work."
Lunch, followed by the customary siesta, occupied the rest of the afternoon. By the aid of a telescope Andy and Quexo had been seen on the summit of the hill, and their descent followed till an intervening spur hid them from sight. Mr. McKay calculated that they would be home within a couple of hours.
"You might cut down a suitable palm tree--one about forty feet in height--Terence," he added. "I should like to have the flag flying on their return."
The tree was easily felled, and a small block, with signal halliards rove, was fastened to its smaller end. This done, a hole was dug to receive the pole, and by the aid of a pair of guys the flagstaff was erected and set up in quite a professional style.
About five in the afternoon Andy and the mulatto returned. They reported that from the summit of the hill the island appeared to be nearly circular, without any noticeable bays that might serve as boat harbours.
The reef extended completely around the island, approaching it closely on the southern side, while there were three well-defined entrances besides the one they already knew about.
Andy reckoned that the extreme length of the island was about seven miles, its breadth barely a mile less. There were no other islands visible, but as the sea was hazy away on the north-west it was possible that land might lie in that direction.
"Then, a.s.suming the alt.i.tude to be one thousand feet, your horizon would be approximately forty-two miles off," remarked Mr. McKay.
"Well, in that case we are not likely to be troubled by our neighbours, for the nearest island cannot be less than fifty miles away. Did you find any signs of the island having been inhabited?"
"Yes," replied Andy, "we found this," and opening a leather sling case he produced a pistol. It was a quaint specimen of a flint-lock weapon, its large-bore barrel eaten with rust and its silver-mounted walnut stock pitted and rotted by exposure.
"I don"t think the gentleman who dropped this article is in a fit state to call upon us," observed Mr. McKay. "Nevertheless, it shows that we are not the first civilised people to set foot on the island. What is the interior like?"
"There are distinct signs of a volcano about. The top of the hill is most certainly an extinct volcano, while the base is honeycombed with fissures like the volcano of Monotombo. Otherwise the island is well wooded."
"You"ve done well," commented Mr. McKay. "Now it"s nearly sunset, so there will be just time to hoist the Union Jack."
"Finished it, then, pater?"
"Rather! Now, Andy, you hoist the emblem of empire!"
Amid the cheers of the band of Britishers the ensign was broken at the masthead. For a few minutes it fluttered idly in the breeze, then, as the sun sank beneath the horizon, the Jack was slowly lowered.
They had a.s.serted the King"s authority over the island to which they had now given the name of McKay"s Island.
CHAPTER VIII
"A SAIL!"
For the next five months things went smoothly at McKay"s Island.
Taking every advantage of the remaining period of the dry season, the lads worked hard. Almost everything of value was removed from the wreck.
The heavy lengths of railway lines were safely transported to the sh.o.r.e; the motor-car, its mechanism not altogether useless, was stored under a canvas canopy on the lower terrace.
The ship"s dynamos were removed, as well as the lighter portion of the main propelling machinery, while the remaining derricks, practically the whole of the wire rigging, and all the woodwork that could be taken away, had found a safe storage-place on McKay"s Island.
Most of the dynamite had been cautiously conveyed ash.o.r.e and placed in some of the numerous caves at a safe distance from the camp. The remainder of the explosive had been judiciously used--under Andy"s direction, for his experiences at San Eugenio had not been thrown away--in demolishing those portions of the wreck that prevented easy access to the precious cargo.
Only the bare hull of the _San Martin_ now remained. No doubt the first on-sh.o.r.e hurricane would sweep away every vestige of the ill-fated vessel, but the castaways were satisfied with the knowledge that nothing of value remained on board.
Nor had the work ash.o.r.e been delayed. Already a substantial three-roomed building of galvanised iron reared itself proudly upon the second terrace. Its furniture--the best that the state-rooms and cabins of the _San Martin_ could provide--would have made many a stay-at-home Englishman green with envy.
The lads had contrived to lay a double set of rails from the sh.o.r.e up the steep path to the lower terrace. Then, by means of a steel hawser attached to two sets of trucks, they were able to draw the bulk of their goods to the higher level with little difficulty.
The mode of locomotion, thanks to Andy"s ready skill, was comparatively simple.
At first Terence wished to utilise the motor of the "runabout"; but to this proposal Andy objected, having another purpose in view for the undelivered consignment for Monsieur Georges Lacroix.
Included in the rolling stock were several iron tip waggons, of the kind generally in use in mining districts. Two of these Andy attached to each of his "trains." Those on the upper level he filled with earth, till the weight, being greater than the other set of waggons, caused the former to descend the incline, and at the same time raise the trucks filled with cargo from the beach.
This plan acted very well, but the labour in filling the trucks with soil was tedious; so Andy conceived the brilliant idea of trapping some of the water from the little stream, and conveying it by means of a length of iron pipe supported on trestles into the empty tip waggons.
From that moment the "McKay"s Island Express" was in full working order, and the task of hauling the salved cargo up the terrace became a matter of comparative ease.
Those five months had worked wonders in Mr. McKay. Though weak on his feet, he was able to walk, and showed promise of soon throwing off all ill-effects of his double misfortune.
As a natural result of his prolonged convalescence he had grown stout.
This was a source of worry to him, and he longed to be able to get about again as usual.
Amongst their many undertakings, the lads found time to make use of the remains of the disabled gig.
Realising that the work of replacing the garboards and keel would not repay the amount of labour expended on the work, they cut the boat in two, and built transoms to each of the sound ends. Thus they possessed two light craft, each about ten feet in length, and easy to haul up and down the beach.
When occasion served, they could also bolt the two transoms together, and thus form one boat, resembling the original gig with a slice of her "midship section missing.