I think we'd better start in on
that the very first thing."

With their gloom a little brightened by the prospect of immediate
action, the Rangers set to work to prepare the first meal that they had
ever undertaken all by themselves. They were somewhat dismayed to
discover what serious inroads had been made in their stock of
provisions; for only a portion of what was originally placed on board
the sloop had been rescued from the inflowing water when she was
wrecked, and in anticipation of her speedy return this had been used
with the utmost freedom, not to say recklessness. But this was a
trifling cause for anxiety when compared with the startling announcement
that the contents of their largest water-barrel had leaked away until it
was empty. Only one small cask of water remained to them; and, upon
learning this, every Ranger immediately imagined that he was suffering
from a burning thirst.

About cooking they really knew very little, though each member thought
he knew enough to prepare a pretty fair meal for people who were not
particular. So they all tried their hands at getting up that dinner, and
a sadder culinary failure was never made. Everything was smoked, burned,
underdone, or in some other way made uneatable, and they finally partook
of a most unsatisfactory meal of dry crackers and smoked herring, which
made them so very thirsty that but for the firmness of their young
captain they would have drained the small cask then and there.

The cooking of succeeding meals was equally unsatisfactory, and by
nightfall of the second day after the departure of their friends our
Rangers had not only expended most of their provisions and drunk up all
their water, but were thoroughly alarmed at their situation. The whole
of that day had been spent on the highest point of the island, gazing
with strained eyes over the surrounding waters in the hope of sighting
some approaching sail. With the coming of darkness they sadly returned
to camp, and flinging themselves gloomily down on their blankets, sought
forgetfulness of their unhappy situation in troubled sleep.

Some hours later Will Rogers was awakened by little Cal Moody, who said,
in a terrified whisper: "Oh, Will, there are pirates on the island, and
they are swearing dreadfully, and I know we're all going to be murdered.
I've been listening and watching them for a long time. See their lights
down there?"

Sure enough, Will could see lights, like moving lanterns, down