ecastle again; and rest and
refreshment had made her more cheerful and more hopeful. She spoke with
greater interest of the future, and dwelt less mournfully on the sad
event which had made her an orphan. Noddy told her his plans for the
morrow; that he intended to launch the long-boat, and visit the island
the next day; that he would build a house for her; and that they would
be happy there till some passing whaler picked them up. The tired boy,
now secure of life, went to sleep. His fair companion wept again, as she
thought of the pleasant days when her father had been a joy to every
hour of her existence; but she, too, went to sleep, with none to watch
over her but the good Father who had saved her in all the perils through
which she had passed.

The sun rose clear and bright the next morning, and Noddy went on deck
to prepare their simple breakfast. He had constructed a fireplace of
iron plates, and he boiled some water to make tea. Mollie soon joined
him; and sad as she still was, she insisted that the cooking was her
duty. She performed it, while Noddy employed himself in devising some
plan by which, with his feeble powers, he could hoist the heavy boat
into the water. The bulwarks had been partially stove on one side, and
he cleared away the wreck till there was nothing to obstruct the passage
of the boat over the side.

They sat down on the deck to eat their breakfast; and during the meal
Noddy was very quiet and thoughtful. Occasionally he cast his eyes up at
the rigging over their heads. Mollie could not help looking at him. She
had a great admiration for him; he had been so kind to her, and so brave
and cheerful in the discharge of the duties which the awful catastrophe
imposed upon him. Besides, he was her only friend--her only hope now.

"What are you thinking about, Noddy?" asked she, perplexed by his
unusually meditative mood.

"I was thinking how I should get the boat into the water."

"You can't get it into the water. What can a small boy like you do with
a great boat like that?"

"I think I can manage it somehow."

"I am afraid not."

"Don't give it up, Mollie; our salvation depends on that boat. I found
out something more, when I went aloft this morning."

"What?"

"There is another island off here to the northward, just as far as you
can see. We may wish to go there, and the boat would be wanted then."

"Noddy, perhaps there are savages on those islands, who will kill us if
we go on sho