Chapter 5 chapter Five

Around the cheerfully bright, crackling fire, the children couldn't help shouting, "Hurrah!" Bell and Jack held out their little frozen red hands to the fire for warmth.With the fire, they thought, they were saved!At their age, people neither think about the past nor worry about the future, they only think about the present. It should be admitted that this burning fire has rescued the poor family from the disaster to a large extent. Without fire, what would be the fate?In this regard, the loyal Flip knew it very well when he struck the last match.Therefore, the fire must not be allowed to go out, and the fire must be carefully protected.Fortunately firewood was inexhaustible, and Flip intended to fetch more in due course.

"Now it's time to fix the drinking problem!" he said. "Yes, we want hot soup!" Jack called. "We've still got plenty of biscuits and dried meat. Let's live on that. We'll find all we need in a little while." Mrs. Clifton followed as Mrs. Clifton went to fetch their provisions from the boat. "What next, Flip?" she asked, pointing to the bag of biscuits and bacon the seaman held in his hand. "We'll see, ma'am," replied Flip. "From a distance, this coast may seem deserted, but it's actually a fertile land. Gathering wood in the woods, I noticed that This land can feed our little group."

"Yes, Flip, my friend, thrown here unarmed, untooled..." "Weapons? We'll make them, ma'am, tools..., don't you have my knife? Look, what a fine abalone, wide blade, sharp edge. With this tool, a man will never would be desperate." Flip's tone of voice was so convincing, and when he spoke of the future with such confidence and firmness, so encouraging and secure, that the words rekindled poor Mrs. Clifton's courage. . "Yes, ma'am," continued Flip, returning to the fire under the rock wall, "you don't know, with a knife, and only a knife, one can build a log house and make A ship of 100 registered tons! I will be in charge of building this ship, and as soon as I have time, I will start building it, from the hull to the mast..."

"I believe you, brave Flip," replied Mrs. Clifton, "but without pans and pots, what shall we use to make hot soup for the comfort of Jack and the boys?" "Tonight, it will indeed be very uncomfortable, but tomorrow, we will find something similar to coconut or gourd, and I will be responsible for making cooking utensils for you." "What about pots that can be put on fire?" said Mrs. Clifton hastily. "If there is no fire below, we will put the 'fire' inside," the sailor replied calmly, "the result will be the same. For example, we can use the wildman's method, put hot stones into In the container, we have hot soup! Don't worry, madam, take courage! You will be amazed by the creativity of people in desperate situations!"

When Mrs. Clifton and Flip returned, the children were stoking the fire to make it burn brighter.A wisp of green smoke rose from the woodpile with a crackling sound and flickering sparks, like fireworks, which made the two children very happy.Jack shook a piece of unburned charcoal, drawing a fiery red sparkling circle in the air. Mark and Robert were adding wood to the fire, and Mrs. Clifton quickly arranged for supper: a biscuit and a little bacon each, and river water for drink.Fortunately, the tide has ebbed and there is no bitter taste in the river. Flip was anxious to see that the family had no shelter.He decided to search the western cliffs a little further along the coast.He hoped to find a cave there, for he saw that the waves were rougher there.After years of beating, any kind of cave should be able to be washed out on the stone wall.The tide has completely receded.Flip went down to the beach at the mouth of the estuary, and he followed the high rocky wall and followed the sand to the left.He walked a few hundred meters away, carefully observing the foot of the cliff.I saw that the rock wall was polished very smooth by the waves, but there were no caves.

On the way back, Flip chewed the biscuit and thought: "They need a nest!" Really, even if it's just a nest.The rain had begun to fall like a fine mist.The mist in the air is already saturated, and it will turn into a downpour in an instant.Big clouds made the night sky darker, and one could clearly hear the roar of the waves crashing against the reefs, and the roar like thunder in the rough sea. Faced with these omens Flip could not be wrong in judging that he was anxious for mother and children.The wind was starting to go westerly, and it was evident that the hollows of the rock could no longer shelter them, and they would no longer be able to hold on there.

The good seaman was very embarrassed and perplexed.The children had finished their supper when he returned to the campsite.Mother had placed Jack and Bell on a bed of sand and dried seaweed in a hollow in the cliff.However, she was helpless in the face of the coming heavy rain.She turned her eyes to Flip, and the expectation in it was so direct and clear that the sailor dared not conceal the truth from her. Mark had seen his mother's anxiety, and looking at the low, thick clouds, he stretched out his hand to the sky to see if the raindrops had grown bigger.Suddenly he had an idea, and walked straight up to Flip.

"Flap," he said. "Mr. Mark." "Look, boat." "Small boat!" cried the seaman, "good idea, turn the boat upside down and there's a roof, what a long overdue house! Come on, my young gentlemen!" Mark, Robert, Mrs. Clifton, and Flip all ran for the boat.Flip immediately declared that Mark was a creative kid, worthy of being the son of an engineer.Turn the boat over!And he, Flip, the experienced sailor, hadn't even thought of such a way! The boat should be pulled under the cliff and leaned against the rock wall.Fortunately it was a light boat of pine wood, only twelve feet long and four feet wide.Mark, Robert, Mrs. Clifton, and Flip were able to pull it to the bivouac by force.The strong Flip, with his legs bent, gave the boat a hard push with his back like a fisherman, and together they quickly moved the boat to the destination.

On either side of the hollow in the rock, Flip built two foundations, two feet high, of several large stones, to support the ends of the boat when it was turned over.The boat turned upside down, and Bell and Jack couldn't wait to get in, but were stopped by Flip. "What fell on the sand?" Indeed, as they turned the boat over, something fell to the ground with a metallic sound.Flapp stooped deeply and picked up the suspicious object. "Brilliant!" he exclaimed. "We're going to be rich!" He held up a very old iron kettle, one of those vessels that are invaluable to American or English sailors.The kettle was very deep, and Flip watched it close to the fire; it held five or six cups of water.It was a coveted tool for the Clifton family. "Brilliant! It couldn't be better," repeated Flip excitedly. "With a knife and an iron pot, we can cook something better than the White House dinner!"

After the boat has turned over, it should be lifted up and placed on the stone foundation.The front of the boat was lifted onto the stone pile on the right.But the back half of the boat was too heavy, and it was difficult to lift it up without tools such as pulleys and jacks. "Well, my young gentlemen," said Flip to the boys, "when strength is insufficient, brains should be used." And he made a slope of wedge-shaped stones, and pushed the rear end of the boat along the slope to the other side. A stone pile, so that both ends of the boat reach the same height.He leaned the boat up, and the side of the boat leaned against the rock wall.To keep out the rain, he put the sail over the boat again, letting the lower part of the sail drag down to the ground.Thus they built a hut that could withstand the storm.

To be on the safe side, Flip dug the sand under the boat a little lower.Use the excavated soil to build a small soil edge around the outside to keep the rainwater from seeping in. Then, he and the children went to the foot of the rock face to collect large quantities of seaweed and spread it on a bed of sand, like a natural duck-down mattress.Flip was very satisfied, because this pure male algae is inexhaustible and inexhaustible. "What a house, a real house!" repeated Flip, "and I'm beginning to believe that people have been mistaking the use of boats, that boats are meant to be roofs, and only capsized when they want to sail. Come and be a ship! Quick, young gentlemen, get in!" "Who tends the fire?" asked Mrs. Clifton. "Me, me!" Mark and Robert replied together. "No, my young friends," objected Flip, "let me come the first night, and then we four will take turns." Mrs. Clifton wanted to share the duty of keeping the fire with Flip, but the seaman refused to do so, and he insisted on doing it alone, so Mrs. Clifton had to do so. Before getting into the houseboat, the children knelt around their mother, praying for their absent father, and thanking the Creator for his help.Then, after embracing mother and kind Flip, and each other, one by one, slipped under the boat, into their kelp beds.Mother shook Flip's hand and followed them into the boat.The sailor was left alone to watch over the precious fire all night, and no matter what the wind and rain, it did not extinguish it.

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