onclusion on the subject.

Having satisfied our curiosity, and enjoyed ourselves during the whole
day in our little boat, we returned, somewhat wearied, and withal rather
hungry, to our bower.

"Now," said Jack, "as our boat answers so well we will get a mast and
sail made immediately."

"So we will!" cried Peterkin as we all assisted to drag the boat above
high-water mark. "We'll light our candle and set about it this very
night. Hurrah, my boys, pull away!"

As we dragged our boat, we observed that she grated heavily on her keel;
and as the sands were in this place mingled with broken coral rocks, we
saw portions of the wood being scraped off.

"Hallo!" cried Jack on seeing this, "that won't do. Our keel will be
worn off in no time at this rate."

"So it will," said I, pondering deeply as to how this might be
prevented. But I am not of a mechanical turn naturally, so I could
conceive no remedy save that of putting a plate of iron on the keel; but
as we had no iron, I knew not what was to be done. "It seems to me,
Jack," I added, "that it is impossible to prevent the keel being worn
off thus."

"Impossible?" cried Peterkin. "My dear Ralph, you are mistaken; there
is nothing so easy."

"How?" I inquired in some surprise.

"Why, by not using the boat at all!" replied Peterkin.

"Hold your impudent tongue, Peterkin!" said Jack as he shouldered the
oars. "Come along with me, and I'll give you work to do. In the first
place, you will go and collect coca-nut fibre, and set to work to make
sewing-twine with it--"

"Please, captain," interrupted Peterkin, "I've got lots of it made
already--more than enough, as a little friend of mine used to be in the
habit of saying every day after dinner."

"Very well," continued Jack; "then you'll help Ralph to collect
cocoa-nut cloth and cut it into shape, after which we'll make a sail of
it. I'll see to getting the mast and the gearing; so let's to work."

And to work we went right busily, so that in three days from that time
we had set up a mast and sail, with the necessary rigging, in our little
boat. The sail was not, indeed, very handsome to look at, as it was
formed of a number of oblong patches of cloth; but we had sewed it well
by means of our sail-needle, so that it was strong, which was the chief
point.--Jack had also overcome the difficulty about the keel by pinning
to it a _false_ keel. This was a piece of tough wood, of the same
length and width as