eep that boiling. Might
boil away six or seven quarts by morning. That would give quite a
pinch of salt."

"That's the idea!" said Kit. "Let's get it going as soon as we can.
Wash it out, and dip it up two-thirds full of water, Don. I'll fix a
way to set it over the fire."

Meanwhile Weymouth was frying another dozen of eggs.

"I think I can suggest a better way of evaporating the sea-water,"
remarked Raed as Donovan came up with the two-quart dipper of water.
"You see that little hollow in the ledge just the other side of the
fire: that will hold several pailfuls, probably. The fire on the rocks
must make that warm: you see if it isn't, Wash."

I was on that side. The ledge for several yards from the blaze was
beginning to get warmed up.

"We might brush that out clean," Raed continued, "and fill it with
water. It will evaporate fast there, and leave its salt on the bottom
of the hollow. We can move the fire along a little nearer to make the
rocks hotter. I'm not sure that we could not make the water boil in
there."

The place was brushed, and a dozen bumperfuls turned into the hollow,
where it soon began to steam.

"That'll do it!" exclaimed Kit. "Never mind: we shall have salt by
to-morrow!"

After eating the eggs, one of the geese, which Donovan and Raed had
dressed, was cut up raw, and fried on the spider. We had sharpened
appetites; and, had the morsels been flavored with salt, it would not
have tasted bad. Wade tried dipping his in the bumper of
sea-water,--with no great satisfaction to his palate, I inferred; for
he did not repeat the experiment.

"How about drink?" Kit observed at length. "I don't suppose there's a
spring on the island. I'm getting thirsty. What's to be done for
water?"

"Have to melt ice," Raed replied. "There's ice along the shore, among
the rocks."

Kit started off, and presently came back with a large lump. Bits of it
were broken off and put in the bumper, and held over the fire. The
water thus obtained and cooled with ice was not salt exactly. Still it
was not, as has sometimes been affirmed, pure fresh water, by any
means: it had a brackish taste.

The weather, which had been clear during the day thus far, began to
foul toward evening. It was now after six. The wind had veered to the
south-west. Wild, straggling fogs, with black clouds higher up, were
running into the north-east. Damp, cold gusts blew in from the water.

"We shall have a chilly night," Wade said, shiver