doing this blessed hot day.

"Now, as to the brig, it's my opinion as they means to careen her, just
as we've done with our little barkie. They've been working like galley-
slaves aboard there all day, and have stripped her to her lower-masts.
The sails are all gone ashore, for I saw 'em lowered over the side into
the boats with these same two good-looking eyes of mine, but the spars
is still aboard. They've been striking out cargo wholesale, and, to my
mind, in a most lubberly, un-seamanlike fashion. If it had been me,
now, I should ha' built a raft with all the spars, and rafted the things
ashore, but they've done everything with their boats; maybe, hows'ever
it's valyable stuff, and they didn't care to trust it to a raft. It was
a'most all boxes and bales, of all sorts and sizes, the pickings of many
a good ship's cargo, I'll warrant. Now I reckon that a'ter the work as
this lot has got through to-day _they'll_ sleep pretty sound too, so
it's my idee that we ain't likely to have a much better chance for
playin' our little trick upon 'em than we shall have to-night. They're
all as tired as tired can be, you may take your oath upon that; and
they'll sleep without any fear of savages, for the reason that they've
give the island a pretty thorough overhaul without findin' any. And to-
morrow it may be too late; for if so be as they comes this way in a
boat, it won't do for us to be found here, and the chances is that we
shall have to cut and run for it, without doing 'em a farthing's-worth
of harm a'ter all. The sails all being took ashore knocks my little
plan for carryin' the brig off clean on the head, even if her spars was
aloft to set 'em on, which they're not. So I s'pose we shall have to
burn the pretty little craft, if we're to do anything at all. Now what
say ye, lad?"

"Simply, that whatever is to be attempted must be attempted to-night," I
replied. "The reasons for doing so are too obvious to need enumeration;
so we will get our few traps on board, have tea, and then snatch what
rest we can between this and midnight, when we must be stirring again.
I would give a great deal to see this brilliantly starlit sky overcast,
but we must take things as we find them, and only use the greater
precautions. Now I think we have as much in the canoe as she will
safely carry, so let's shove off; we can come back for the remainder
after tea. And mind, Bob, not a word of this before Ella."

"Trust me for that,"