ind nothing but the Thanksgiving note in my journal after
the departure of the gig until November 27, other than official
entries of receipts and expenditures of food,--the receipt of seals
and albatross killed by Mr. Blye and his detail of men; the
expenditure being the same with the daily allowance of flour or beans
and the coffee for the noon meal.)

Work has been steadily pushed on the schooner. The keel has been hewed
out of the Saginaw's late topmast and is blocked up on the beach. We
are ripping the old deck planks in two with our old bucksaw and one
handsaw, and while it is slow work we can see our boat planking ahead
of us when the frame is ready. The schooner is to be forty feet long,
of centre-board, flat-bottomed type, and the captain has settled upon
her shape and dimensions after experimenting with a small model in
company with the contractor's carpenter, who has had experience in
boat-building.

This morning about sunrise the camp was roused to excitement by the
loud cry of "Sail ho!" I found on joining the crowd at the landing
that the captain had ordered a boat launched and her crew were already
pulling away in a northerly direction.

[Illustration: RIPPING TIMBERS FOR THE SCHOONER]

[Illustration: THE FRAME OF THE SCHOONER AS WE LEFT IT]

I could see nothing from the crow's nest at the masthead, but the
statement of one of the crew that he had seen a sail was positive;
and the camp was full of a nervous expectancy until nine o'clock, when
the boat returned with the disappointing news that the alleged sail
was only a large white rock on the north end of the reef that had
reflected the sun's rays. As the sun rose to a greater angle the
reflection disappeared. An order was at once given out that no one
should again alarm the camp before permission from the captain was
obtained.

_Sunday, December 25._ Christmas Day!! Merry Christmas at home, but
dreary enough here! Still the salutation was passed around in a
half-hearted manner. It is the first day since the wreck that
depression of spirit has been so contagious and camp-wide. The
religious services, as we stood in the sand bareheaded (some
barefooted also), hardly seemed to fit our situation, and the voice of
the captain was subdued and occasionally tremulous. I had donned my
best uniform coat, which had come ashore when the wreck was stripped,
and tried also to put on a cheerful face. No use; I could not keep up
the deceit, and I slipped