to float on the element which
is to be her future home. The tackle was hooked on, and the end secured
on board. Several pieces of rock, of a size which they could lift on
board, had been got ready, afterwards to be bound together, so as to
form moorings of a sufficient weight to hold the boat. These had been
left down on the beach close to the water, so that it would not take
long to lift them in. Lord Reginald went on board to ease off the
tackle, while Dick, with a handspike, gave the necessary impetus to the
craft. She glided down the beach, gaining speed as she advanced, until
with a splash her bows entered the water. Dick gave a few more heaves
to encourage her, and in another minute she was almost afloat. He
shoved at her stern with all his might. Then leaping on board he got
out an oar and urged her on until she was in deep water. He had
fastened a rope to a stone, which on being thrown overboard kept her
head seaward, when she was hauled back again sufficiently near the beach
to enable them to lift their ballast-bags and mooring-stones on board.
The former having been properly stowed, the latter, according to their
arrangement, were bound tightly together, and the tackle being cast off,
they paddled her into the bay, far enough from the shore to enable her
to ride in safety. The moorings were then let drop, and the tackle so
arranged that the boat could be hauled towards the beach without the
necessity of their first going on board.

With justifiable pride they surveyed their handiwork. "Now let's get
under way!" cried Lord Reginald. "She floats well on the water, and is
higher out of it than I expected."

As the wind was light, all the canvas was hoisted. The sails filled,
and being sheeted home, the little craft stood away from the land.

"She behaves beautifully! You ought to have been a ship-builder, and
you would soon have become famous. Indeed, I am sure that you would
succeed in whatever you undertook," exclaimed Lord Reginald.

"You flatter me too much," answered Dick. "I picked up a knowledge of
carpentering when I was a boy, and necessity is said to be the mother of
invention, so, soon after we were wrecked, I began to consider how a
craft could be built. I have had her planned out in my head for many a
day. In what direction shall we sail?"

"We will beat up to the westward, as the island extends furthest in that
direction," answered Lord Reginald. "We will then run round it, a