provision-casks; I never thought they would contain aught else!"

"Never despair, Master Trevose," replied Bevan, "they may not be all the
same. Let us try another cask. We may have better luck this time."

Disheartened and anxious, they set to work, desperate with hunger, and
beat in the head of the next cask with savage blows. And, oh joy! in
this cask they at length found the much-needed food in the form of salt
pork, with which the barrel was filled.

"Hurrah," shouted Roger, "we are saved after all!"

They took out two large pieces. Jake Irwin filled the pot with water
from the spring, and, having soon made a fire, they set the meat on to
boil. The savoury odour of the cooking meat soon met their nostrils and
encouraged them to fresh efforts on the other casks. Strangely enough,
though the first cask opened was filled with spoilt gunpowder, all the
rest of the barrels had good wholesome provisions in them. The second
barrel opened was found to contain ships'-biscuit, the third and fourth
salt pork; the fifth had beef in it, and in one or two more casks they
found further food, sufficient in all to last them for some months
without going on short rations. It was not long ere the meat was
sufficiently cooked to satisfy them, and they went in to call Evans and
acquaint him with the fact that he could now have a good wholesome meal.
They aroused him with great difficulty, and he seemed to be weaker than
ever. He revived somewhat under the stimulating influence of the hot
food, and told them that if only he had had such food a little earlier
it would have saved his life.

Their meal finished, they got up a few more casks which had meanwhile
come ashore, and gathered more wreckage, piling all their material
recovered from the sea in a place of safety well above high-water mark.
Having at length collected everything in sight on the beach, the next
thing they set themselves to do was to find a suitable spot and erect,
with the wreckage that they had found, a hut large enough to contain the
entire party with comfort. But first, as Roger very rightly observed,
it was necessary and prudent to build a fire the smoke of which could be
seen out at sea, and which might serve as a guide to Cavendish in his
search for the sand-bank should he happen to be looking for it. Their
plan was to feed the fire with damp wood and sea-weed during the day, to
produce a thick smoke that could be seen at a long distance out at se