When at last they sat down beside the fire at the cave-entrance to eat
their first dinner of roast venison in their new home, they felt as rich
as--well it's really quite impossible to tell you just how rich they did
feel.

The Cave Twins--by Lucy Fitch Perkins

CHAPTER EIGHT.

THE RAFT.

When Limberleg woke the next morning, the bright sunshine was pouring
into the cave, lighting up the very farthest corner of it. The vines
which overhung the entrance were waving in the breeze, and their shadows
were dancing gayly on the chalk floor.

Limberleg sat up and looked out. From the door she could see miles and
miles of open water. To the north were the shores of England. Below
was a beautiful sandy beach, and a little way from the shore there were
rocks sticking out of the water. Gulls were wheeling and screaming
about the rocks.

Limberleg took the gourd and went down the little green path to the
spring for water. When she came back, the others were still sleeping.
So she crept out through the path to the hill-top and gathered sticks to
replenish the fire.

She was already broiling the venison when the others woke.

At breakfast, she said to Hawk-Eye, "I believe I will stay in the cave
to-day, it is such a lot of work to start a new fire every day, and I
can keep this one burning. Besides, the Twins must have new skins
pretty soon. Those fox-furs they are now wearing are getting shabby. I
will cure the deer-skin we brought home last night for them."

"We must get more skins," said Hawk-Eye. "We shall need them when cold
weather comes. I will get the meat, and you can cook, and cure the
skins, and tend the fire."

Then Hawk-Eye went off hunting, to be gone all day. The Twins ran down
to the beach and went in wading. They were not so afraid of the water
as they had been, but they stayed near shore because they could see
great fish tumbling about in the waves, and they didn't know whether
they ate children or not. Probably the fish didn't know, either. They
had never had any to try. Anyway, the Twins thought they would not find
out what their tastes were in the matter, and so they stayed near the
shore,--or at least they meant to.

Ever since the great storm there had been logs and broken tree-branches
floating about in the water, and on this morning, the Twins found two of
them bobbing about near the beach-line. They were not very large, and
the Twins thought it would be fun to play with them