Chapter 4 Chapter Four

Flip jumped onto the beach in one step, followed by Mark and Robert, and the three of them pulled the boat out onto the sand.The tide is beginning to ebb and the boat must be secured. Flip went back to the boat, picked up the two children at the same time, and lowered them to the sand.Then he took Mrs. Clifton and helped her get safely out of the boat.It delighted the competent seaman to set his feet on this solid sandy shore. "Everything will be all right, ma'am," he repeated, "everything will be all right! We just need to settle down." The place where Flip accidentally landed in his boat was on the left bank of an estuary about a hundred wide.The beach is narrow, less than twenty-five feet wide, and is wedged between the river and the steep walls.The steep walls on the river bank are the cliffs that run along the coastline to the left bank of the estuary.At the landing site, although the height of the cliff has decreased, it is still about three hundred feet, and in some places it is still very steep.It was impossible for people to climb up from here, which made Flip feel very frustrated, because he already wanted to climb to a high place to observe the surrounding environment.

The first problem they have to solve is to find a cave, a cave, so that they can spend the first night after landing and avoid the threat of wind and rain.Flip searched quickly along the granite walls, but could find no temporary shelter. There were solid blocks everywhere, without even a crack.But where the boat was moored, due to the long-term beating of the waves, a piece of land was sunk in the bottom of the cliff, forming a hollow, where it was temporarily sheltered from wind and rain.But this is by no means a place to live. When the wind changes, people will be immediately exposed to the wind and rain.Flip intended to walk up the river to find a place where he could rest for a while.He told Mrs. Clifton what he thought.

"Don't be afraid, ma'am, I won't go too far. Besides, I have long legs and fast feet, and I will be back in a while. Besides, there are children with you. Mr. Mark, you will take good care of me." Your mother, right?" "Yes, Flip," replied the eldest.His determined expression was far beyond maturity for his age. "I'm going!" said Flip again. "I'm going to drive up and down the left bank of the river, and if you need to meet me, don't go the wrong way." Flip led Mrs. Clifton and the two children into the hollow he had just discovered, and departed.Mother, Bell, and Jack huddled together in the hollow under the cliff, while Mark and Robert patrolled back and forth on the beach.It was starting to get dark and one could only hear the howling of the wind, the roar of the waves crashing against the rocks and the screeching of seabirds nesting on the cliffs.

After settling down with his little group, Flip walked quickly away along the foot of the cliff.The height of the cliff gradually decreased, and after walking about half a mile, the cliff disappeared, forming a long steep slope.Here, too, the river becomes narrower, only sixty or seventy feet wide.Like the left bank, the right bank of the river is also rocky. The slope that now opened before Flip was less wild, a wide meadow spreading out into a forest. "Great!" thought the seaman, "we have no shortage of firewood." Flip walked towards the woods to gather some dry wood.Unfortunately, he didn't find any shelter from the wind and rain along the way.However, he should be satisfied, at least, they can go ashore and spend the night in a temporary camping place on land. When he walked to the edge of the forest, he found that the forest was endless and mighty along the rugged hillside headed inward.Thirty nautical miles away, a mountain peak overlooks the slope of this highland.This is the unknown land presented to the sailor of the Vancouver.

While tying dry wood, Flip wondered how he could rescue the miserable family he was willing to devote his life to from adversity, and, of course, the campsite was his greatest anxiety at the moment. "It shouldn't be too shabby, anyway," he said to himself, "but we'll have time to work out all the difficulties. Fire is the first problem now, and we need firewood that's combustible." Gathering dry wood was not difficult, as the ground was strewn with branches that had been knocked down by the storm.Flip also did not say what species the branches belonged to, he only classified them as combustible or non-combustible wood, and that was good enough for him.

Although there is no shortage of fuel, there is still a lack of means of transportation.Flip could only carry as much as a strong man could carry, which was far from enough to meet the needs of a whole night of burning.A solution should be found quickly.The sun gradually went down, and there was only a scarlet red cloud left in the western sky. Since there was no sea breeze to disperse the fog, the fog was getting thicker and heavy rain was coming.But Flip was unwilling to return without enough firewood. "There should be a way to get the firewood back," he said to himself. A solution. Ah! If only I had a cart! I could fill it up and get out of trouble. But there's no cart, and what can take the place of a cart? A boat? But there's no boat either!"

While collecting firewood, Flip thought of a way: "Although there is no boat, there is a river, and there is a flowing river. Why not build a raft for it?" Flip was very satisfied with his idea, and he took up his bundle of fagots and walked towards the point where the woods met the river bank.He walked about 100 meters to the shore, where he found a lot of dead branches and dry firewood, and he began to tie the raft. He arranged the thickest branches together, tied them with damp vines, and tied them in the shape of wooden paper.Then he put it into the river, and it was piled up with dry branches that he had picked up, and it took about ten men to carry it away.If his goods arrived safely, they would have no shortage of firewood.

Half an hour later the raft was ready to be loaded.Flip was unwilling to let the raft drift down alone, but it was impossible for him to get on board and steer it like a boat, he had to pull it along.But where is the rope?Usually, isn't the belt on a sailor a few fathoms long?He took off his belt and looked at it, thinking, maybe this long belt is just for pulling the raft!So he fastened his belt to the raft, and with a long branch, pushed the raft into the current. His method was so effective that the raft laden with branches flowed down the river bank.Because of the steep banks, he had no fear of the raft running aground.At a few minutes after six he returned to where they had disembarked, and Flip brought the raft to rest.

Mother and children ran towards him. "Why, ma'am," cried Flip, joyfully, "I brought you a whole wood, and there's plenty more, believe me, there's no need to save, firewood isn't worth a penny to us. .” "But this land? . . . " asked Mrs. Clifton. "You will see, the sun is shining, the woods are strong, and there is a green lawn. It is a charming place!" "But where is our house?" Bell asked. "Our house, my dear little girl, we will build our house, will you help us?" "But what about today?" asked Mrs. Clifton.

"Today," replied Flip, with some embarrassment, "to-day, only to spend the night where I am now. I haven't found even the smallest cave. The cliff is as smooth as a new wall. But, to-morrow , we shall find the cave we need in broad daylight. Wait a moment, and let us light the fire, which shall light our thoughts." Mark and Robert unloaded the branches and piled them at the foot of the cliff.Flip quickly built a pyre with manly dexterity.Mrs. Clifton and the two small children crouched in a hollow in the rock face and watched their side of the work. When all his preparations were done, Flip reached into his pocket for his matchbox.Because he is an old smoker, the matchbox never leaves his body.He fumbled in the wide trouser pocket for a long time, until the end, but found nothing.

He couldn't help shivering.Mrs. Clifton, with her large eyes, stared straight at him. "Stupid!" he shrugged. "I keep my matches in my coat pocket." The coat was still in the boat.Flip went to the boat to find the clothes. He turned the clothes over and over again and fumbled for a long time, but there was still no trace of the matchbox. The sailor's face began to grow pale.Maybe the matchbox fell in the boat while the clothes were covering the kids? He bent down and searched every corner in the boat, but there was nothing under the deck or between the planks.Obviously, the matchbox was lost. The situation became so serious that the horrific consequences of losing a match were irreparable.What would happen without fire?Flip could only spread his hands in a frustrating gesture.Mrs. Clifton came up to Flip, and she understood everything.How do you light a fire without matches?Flip struck flint with his knife, but there was no tinder, and lit rags were substituted for tinder, but there was no fire at all; as for the savage method of rubbing fire, which required special expertise, these too Flip never had it. Flip was so embarrassed that he dared not look up at Mrs. Clifton and her poor, shivering children.Mrs. Clifton turned away and went back to the foot of the cliff. "Well, what's the matter, Flip?" asked Mark. "No matches, Mr. Mark," Flip replied in a low voice. Mark picked up the clothes again. He rummaged through them inside and out.He searched carefully in every pocket again, and suddenly he uttered a cry of surprise: "A match!" he said. "One and only one match," cried the sailor, "we are saved!" Flip took his jacket and, like Mark, he felt a small wooden stick caught in the jacket's lining.His thick hands trembled, he held the small wooden stick stuck in the cloth layer, but he couldn't pull it out completely.Mrs. Clifton was already in front of him again. "Let me do it, friend," she said to him. After taking the coat, she carefully pulled out the small wooden stick. "A match," cried Flip, "is a match with sulfur and phosphorus! It's as if we had a whole box of matches." The brave sailor jumped up for joy. He held the children in his arms, and secretly wiped away the tears from his eyes. "Wow!" said he, "I have a match, wonderful! I shall use it with care, and examine it carefully before I use it." As he spoke, Flip rubbed the only match and confirmed that it was indeed dry. "Need a little paper," he said. "Here you are," replied Robert. Flip took the slip of paper the boy handed him, and made his way to the little woodpile.He carefully placed several handfuls of hay and dried seaweed picked up from the bottom of the cliff on the woodpile.He built the small woodpile so that the air could circulate and the dead branches could burn quickly.He rolled the paper into a trumpet shape, as smokers do when they light their cigarettes against the wind. Then, holding a match, he picked up a dry stone, which was a rough pebble.He crouched under the cliff and chose a sheltered angle.Mark shielded himself from the wind with his hat.Flip struck the match lightly on the pebbles. Nothing happened to the first rub.Flip did not dare to strike the match too hard, for the poor fellow was afraid of breaking the match.He held his breath, and people could hear the beating of his heart. He struck the match a second time, and a thin wisp of blue smoke rose up, sending out a small spark with a pungent smell of smoke.Flip turned the match around and put it in the paper trumpet, and in a few seconds the tube caught fire.Flip put the tube in the hay and seaweed pit again.After a while, the dry wood made a crackling sound, and under the blowing of the sea breeze, a bunch of cheerful flames rose and jumped in the darkness, burning more and more vigorously.

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