and sank.

"Never mind," consoled the captain. "It's shallow here and at low
tide we may be able to get her. Anything left in her, Mr. Carr?"

"Considerable provisions in the water-tight compartments. Also
some supplies."

"Very good. We'll need 'em all. We're quite a party of castaways
now."

"How did you find Bob?" asked the first mate, for his boat had been
near when the boy fell overboard.

"Oh, Bob discovered the island for us," replied the commander, and
he explained the various happenings.

Shore was soon reached, and then Mr. Carr and Ned, neither of whom
had been able to eat much because of the necessity of bailing to
keep from sinking, were given a good meal.

The two latest arrivals looked with interest on what had already
been done to form a camp. When their wet trousers were hung up to
dry in the hot sun, they rested in the shade of the tent and Bob
explained his adventures on first reaching the island.

"Have you any idea where we are, captain?" asked Mr. Carr, after a
mutual exchange of experiences.

"Only a slight one. I'm going to take an observation this noon.
Fortunately, my chronometer did not stop and I can get the correct
reckoning."

But the captain was disappointed. At noon the sun was hidden under
a dense bank of clouds, and, as "dead reckoning" would have been of
no avail, since they had no previous record to go by, he had to
postpone matters.

However, there was plenty to do. When the tide went out late that
afternoon they saw that it would he possible to get most of the
things from the wrecked boat. This kept them busy until dark.
Then a big campfire was lighted, and, though the tent was rather
crowded with six in it, they managed to sleep fairly comfortably.

The next day it rained, and the castaways put in rather a miserable
existence. Fortunately, they had carried the food into the tent,
where it was protected from the terrific tropical downpour. The
rain kept up for three days, and during all that time Mr. Tarbill
never ceased complaining.

As for Bob and the others, they did not mind getting wet through,
for the weather was very warm. Under the captain's directions they
had built a sort of screen for the fire at the first sign of a
storm, making it of green cocoanut tree leaves on slanting poles
like a "lean-to," and this kept the blaze going in spite of the
wetness, as plenty of dry wood had been gathered before the rain
began.

On the fourth day the su