e hill-top, and after that, having waved our goodnights to
the people in the hulk, we made our suppers, and lay down to smoke, after
which, we turned-to again at our plaiting of the sennit, the which we
were in very great haste to have done. And so, later, the dark having
come down upon the island, the bo'sun bade us take burning weed from the
center fire, and set light to the heaps of weed that we had stacked
round the edges of the hill for that purpose, and so in a few minutes the
whole of the hill-top was very light and cheerful, and afterwards, having
put two of the men to keep watch and attend to the fires, he sent the
rest of us back to our sennit making, keeping us at it until maybe about
ten of the clock, after which he arranged that two men at a time should
be on watch throughout the night, and then he bade the rest of us
turn-in, so soon as he had looked to our various hurts.

Now, when it came to my turn to watch, I discovered that I had been
chosen to accompany the big seaman, at which I was by no means
displeased; for he was a most excellent fellow, and moreover a very lusty
man to have near, should anything come upon one unawares. Yet, we were
happy in that the night passed off without trouble of any sort, and so at
last came the morning.

So soon as we had made our breakfast, the bo'sun took us all down to the
carrying of fuel; for he saw very clearly that upon a good supply of this
depended our immunity from attack. And so for the half of the morning we
worked at the gathering of weed and reeds for our fires. Then, when we
had obtained a sufficiency for the coming night, he set us all to work
again upon the sennit, and so until dinner, after which we turned-to once
more upon our plaiting. Yet it was plain that it would take several days
to make a sufficient line for our purpose, and because of this, the
bo'sun cast about in his mind for some way in which he could quicken its
production. Presently, as a result of some little thought, he brought out
from the tent the long piece of hemp rope with which we had moored the
boat to the sea anchor, and proceeded to unlay it, until he had all three
strands separate. Then he bent the three together, and so had a very
rough line of maybe some hundred and eighty fathoms in length, yet,
though so rough, he judged it strong enough, and thus we had this much
the less sennit to make.

Now, presently, we made our dinner, and after that for the rest of the
day we kept v