. "Now, what it wants is a little tallow to rub in; but there
is no candle handy."

"When I was on watch, sir, I saw lots of bees flying in and out of the
trees. If we could light on a hive the wax would do first-rate."

"So it would, Steve. However, until we can find one I fancy we shall get
on well enough. Five minutes' bailing occasionally will keep her dry
enough, I am sure, at any rate for river work. Now we have got the big job
before us; let us have a try how we can move her."

The nine men put their strength to the boat, but they found that the deep
keel buried itself in the sand, and that they could not drag her along.
Then they tried carrying her, the mate, the two boys, and two men on one
side, and the other four men on the other. She was a heavy weight, but
they could just manage it, and carried her for some twenty yards before
they put her down.

"This will never do," the mate said. "We can't use our strength to
advantage, else the weight would not be too great for us. Let us go up to
the wood, lads, and chop four poles, turn her over, and lay her down on
them. In that way I don't think we shall have much difficulty about it."

It took them longer than they expected, for the wood was so tough that
their cutlasses produced but little impression upon it. After an hour's
hard work, however, they cut four poles, each about twelve feet long. With
these they returned to the boat, laid the poles down on the sand at equal
distances apart, and turned the boat over upon them; then a man took each
end of a pole, the two boys taking one end together, and at a word lifted
the boat with comparative ease. It was very hard work under the blazing
sun, and they had to stop every hundred yards or so to rest their arms.
Still they were successful, and after three hours' toil they reached the
river. The oars had been lost when they landed, and they determined to
take the bottom boards out and cut them into paddles. The first thing,
however, was to bathe.

"Don't go far out," the mate said, "there may be sharks or alligators in
the river for aught we know."

Greatly refreshed by their dip, they took the boards out of the boat,
carried them up into the shade of the trees, and with their jack-knives
fashioned them into rude paddles, with thin creepers strips of wood tying
down the handles to add to their strength. This took them all the
afternoon. When the sun had lost its power they put the boat into the
water, and made an