The Adventurous Four - - Страница 22

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"We must mend the boat somehow," said Tom. "It's our only chance!"

When Andy joined them on the slanting deck he looked very cheerful.

"Do you know, there's not much wrong!" he said. "I do believe I could patch her up fairly quickly. The waves have shifted her a bit so that I can get at the damaged part—the part where she struck the rocks and damaged a few planks."

"Oh, good, Andy!" cried the girls, and Tom slapped the fisher-boy on the shoulder for joy. How marvellous, that they could perhaps make the ship seaworthy again! What luck that the waves had shifted her enough to make it possible to examine the damaged part! Tom had no idea at all how Andy meant to patch op the ship, but he meant to help with all his might, to make up for losing the stolen boat.

Tom and Andy went back over the rocks to fetch a rope. Andy felt sure that if they all tugged at the boat at high tide, they could get her off the rocks and float her to the beach, where it would not be difficult to patch her up.

"You see, Tom, she's not jammed very tightly now," said Andy. "And I reckon if we wait tin the tide is at its very highest, and big waves are trying to lift the boat up, we could pull her right off the rocks! Then we'll get her into shore somehow, and see what we can do."

"If only we can do it all before the enemy come again," said Tom. "I wonder if they've discovered that I've gone!"

"Don't let's think about that," said Andy.

The boys found all the rope they had and wound it firmly round their waists. They went back to the shore. The girls were still on the ship, but the tide was rising high and they would soon have to leave, as the sea covered the boat at high tide.

The children fastened strong double strands of rope to the front of the ship. Then, holding firmly to the rope, they clambered over the rocks back to the sandy beach, wet through. The tide came up higher and higher and the children had to stand up to their waists in the water, for the rope would not reach right to the shore.

"Look! There's an enormous wave coming!" shouted Andy. "Pull on the rope, all of you, as soon as the wave strikes the ship! Heave-ho!"

They all pulled—and every child felt the ship give a little as the wave fined her and the rope pulled her. "Now here's another one!" yelled Andy. "Heave-ho!"

They all heaved at the rope with all their might Again they felt the ship move a little. The two big waves ran up the shore and wetted the children to their chins!

"Hang on to the rope, girls," cried Andy. "If we get many waves Kke that you may be swept off your feet. But as long as you've got hold of the rope you'll be all right."

The waves were smaller after that—and then the wind began to blow stiffly again, and the waves grew bigger. An enormous one reared its green Jiead far out to sea.

"There's a monster coming!" shouted Tom. "Look-at it! It will sweep us off our feet!"

"But we'll pull at the boat first!" yelled Andy, who was tremendously excited. He really felt that they could get the boat off the rocks. "Now—heave-ho, heave-ho!"

The wave struck the boat and the rope dragged at her at the same moment She shivered and groaned as she tried to escape from the rocks that held her. She slipped a few feet forward.

The giant wave struck the children next, and all of them went down under it, even Andy. They floundered in the foaming waves, and Jill swallowed about a pint of salt water. Mary was very angry because Tom put his foot into her neck, but Tom didn't mean to. The wave struck him so hard that he was flung right off his feet, and had to strike out to get himself upright again.

None of them let go the rope. They all held on for dear life, as Andy had ordered. So it was not long before they were standing up again, gasping and spluttering, salt iti their mouths and noses, but all of them determined to heave again as soon as the next big wave came.

"Look how the boat has moved!" yelled Andy, in the greatest delight. "She's almost off the rocks! Golly! Isn't this exciting?"

The boat had moved a good deal. Andy was sure that they could pull her in now. He waited patiently for the next big wave to come—and my goodness, it was a monster! The tide was at its height now, and the wind blew very strongly. A green wave put up its head, and the children gave a yell.

"Look at that one!"

"It will knock us all over again," said Mary, afraid. But she didn't let go the rope. Whether she was knocked over or not she meant to do her bit.

The wave grew bigger and higher as it came nearer to the rocks on which the boat lay It began to curl over a little—and then it struck the rocks, and the boat too.

"HEAVE-HO!" yelled Andy, in a voice as enormous as the wave! And they all heaved. My goodness, what a heave that was!

The great wave blotted the boat from their sight and came raging towards them. Jill gave a shout of fear.

"Hold on!" shouted Andy, half-afraid himself. The wave swept them all off their feet—and alas, swept them all from the rope too, except Andy, who held on with all his might.

The other three children were taken like corks, rolled over and over, and flung roughly on the sand at the edge of the sea. Then the great wave ran back down the beach, gurgling and foaming.

Jill sat up, crying. Mary lay still, quite stunned for the moment. Tom sat up, furiously angry with the wave! It had bumped and battered him most spitefully, he thought.

As for Andy, he was under water, still clinging to the rope—but as soon as he struggled to his feet he gave a gurgling shout and tried to clear his throat of the salt water there.

"The ship! Look! She's off and floating!"

They all looked—and there was the little fishing-boat, safely off the rocks, bobbing about on the sea that swirled high over the other rocks.

"Come in and help me, quick, before any other big "waves ceme!" yelled Andy. "We can get her into shore now. Quick, Tom!"

The three battered children, dripping wet, ran bravely into the sea again". They caught hold of the rope and pulled hard. "Heave-ho, heave-ho, heave-ho!" chanted Andy, as they all pulled hard.

And the boat came bobbing in to the shore! The children dragged the rope up the beach and the boat followed, scraping its bottom at last on the sand.

"We've got her!" shouted Andy, doing a kind of war-dance on his tired legs. "We've got her! Now we'll just see what we can do!"

The four children were so excited at getting their boat off the rocks that at first they could do nothing but laugh and chatter and clap their hands. They were all lited out with their long struggle in the sea, but so Joappy that they forgot all about their aching arms and legs, salty mouths and dripping clothes.

The boat lay on her side in the shallow water. Andy examined her carefully. He was sure that if he could nail planks inside, just where she had been stove-in by the rocks, he could patch her up well enough for her to sail home.

"She will let water in, but you two girls can bail her out all the time," said Andy "I'll patch her up enough to get her sailing safely. Golly! I never thought we could do this!"

The children had been so busy that no one, not even Tom, had thought of any breakfast. But Andy suddenly felt very hungry, and sent the girls off to fetch breakfast of some sort. "And bring a jug of hot cocoa, too," he said. "We are all wet through, and it would be nice to have something to warm us."

Tom fetched the tools from the shack and the box of nails and screws and bolts. Andy meant to be very busy indeed. Somehow or other that boat had" to be finished before Tom's escape was known.

After a burned breakfast, they all set to work under Andy's orders. Andy stripped some of the wood from the roof of the cabin to use in the patching of the ship. The girls took out the old nails from the strips. Tom waited on Andy and handed him everything he wanted.

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