THE BOAT RECALLED--A STORM--A FEARFUL NIGHT.

The two Crusoes, now no longer rivals, worked vigorously away at their
boat. Every day Lord Reginald gained strength, and was able the more
effectually to help Dick, who, however, never spared himself. With the
young lord's assistance, he sawed off the large pieces at the end
intended for the bows, which he afterwards shaped with his axe and
plane. From the stern, much less had to be taken off. Here the axe did
nearly all the work. Having then planed all round the sides and bows,
the log presented the appearance on the upper part of a well-formed
canoe. The workmen had now to turn her over, and to commence shaping
the lower part. Having stripped off the bark, which he could not before
get at, Dick, again using his level, planed it evenly, and then
carefully marked out the part to which the keel was to be fixed. With
his adze he shaped both sides, using the forms he had previously
prepared. In some parts there was very little wood to take off, though
he had to cut away considerable at the bows and stern. Lord Reginald
found that as yet there was comparatively little for him to do, as, from
want of experience, he could not for some time use either the adze or
the axe.

At length, the whole of the outside of the canoe was shaped, and Dick
and his companion surveyed it with no little satisfaction.

"We must now turn her on her keel again, and begin digging her out,"
observed Dick. "It will cost us no little trouble, I suspect. We may
begin with the axe, but it won't do to use that as we get on, for fear
of making a hole through the side or bottom. We must then employ the
gouge, and I have sharpened up all the large ones I found in the
carpenter's chest."

"I have heard of a mode of digging out canoes by means of hot stones or
hot irons. We have irons enough for the purpose, and by lighting a fire
near at hand, might keep them constantly hot," said Lord Reginald.

"I should be afraid of burning through the wood, or causing it to split,
unless we use the irons only in the centre. We might try that, and see
how it answers," replied Dick.

Several stanchions and other bars of iron, which had been extracted from
the wreck, were accordingly fitted with handles, and they soon had half
a dozen "hot pokers," as Lord Reginald called them, heating in a fire
close to the canoe. Dick, however, was of opinion that they made far
more progress with the adze, but as Lord Re