Chapter 10 Chapter 10 The Raft

One can imagine the joy of welcoming the safe return of the explorers.Gordon, Cross, Baxter, Garnett and Webb held the hands of the warriors tightly.The younger companions clasped their necks and cheered enthusiastically.The little fans also joined their celebrations, cheering happily with the laughter of the children, as if Bryant and his friends were reunited after a long absence. Are they lost?Were they taken by wildlings?Were they carried off by beasts of prey?The friends who stayed in the camp pondered these questions over and over again in their minds. Bryant, Donagan, Wilcox and Sauvis have only now told their companions about their adventures.Because I was exhausted after the long journey the night before, I didn't talk to my partners about their experience until the next morning.

"We're still on the island." Bryant's simple statement was enough to reveal the danger of their situation, although Gordon did not show the slightest dismay at the news. "Well, let's wait," Gordon said to himself, "we can't go blind and kill ourselves." The next morning, the morning of April 5th.While the other friends were still soundly asleep, the three big boys called Moko, who usually loves to come up with good ideas, to have a small meeting at the bow of the boat.Bryant and Donagan told their companions what they had seen and heard from their expedition.The stone masonry across the creek, the remains of huts, all this is enough to prove that this is a small uninhabited island.They also explained that the wide body of water which they had at first mistook for the sea was in fact a great lake; how they followed the fresh tracks to the cave; How were the bones of François Bowden discovered; and how Franche Bowden's map showed where their sailing ship wrecked.

They described their adventures in detail.Now they can only stare blankly at the map in front of them, eagerly waiting for rescue from the middle of the sea. Although the children's chances of escape are slim and their only hope is in God, one of them is not as panicked as the others, and that person is Gordon.The young American lad had no relatives in New Zealand.With his practical experience.Leadership and organizational skills, even if it is necessary to establish a colony here, there is no major difficulty.He knew now was the time to use his natural instincts.So he did not hesitate to boost the morale of his companions, and vowed that as long as his companions were willing to help him, he would take them through the difficulties of survival.

First of all, since the island is so big, it must be marked on the map of the Pacific Ocean near the American continent.They opened the atlas, but they did not find such an important isolated island among the islands of the Pacific Ocean.These islands include the Tierra del Fuego, the Magellan Islands, the Wild Islands, the Queen Adelaide Islands and the Clarence Islands, among others.If this island was one of these archipelagos separated from the mainland by a narrow strait, Baoding would have marked it on the map.But he didn't mark it.So it's an island.It is located further south or further north than the other archipelagos.But determining its location is simply not possible without the necessary measuring tools.

Now they can only move out of the broken sailboat and find another more comfortable place to live.Otherwise, when the rainy season comes, it will be too late for them to move. "The best thing to do is move to a cave by the lake. It's a great place to live," Bryant said. "Can that cave hold all of us?" asked Baxter. "No room," Donagan replied, "but we can dig another hole in there, and we have the tools." "In this case, let's make do with it first," Gordon suggested. "If it's really too small, we can still dig." "Then we've got to move in as soon as possible," Bryant interrupted.

Things are getting urgent.As Gordon said, the wreck was becoming more and more unlivable.Because of the wind, rain and sun, the hull and deck were cracked, and the canvas used to block the wind and water was almost useless.The sand at the bottom of the hull was constantly being emptied, and the entire hull tilted to one side, sinking deeply in the sand dunes.If another storm came, the broken sailboat could be torn to pieces within hours.So the sooner the kids move out the better, and they have to methodically dismantle the sailboat, making sure to use whatever is available; beams, planks, tin, copper, etc., to decorate the "French Human Cave".In memory of the Frenchman who died, they named the cave "Frenchman's Cave".

"Where do we live while the ship is broken?" Donagan asked. "In a tent, we can pitch a tent under those trees near the river," Gordon replied. "That's the best way," Bryant agreed. "Let's do it!" Unloading the boat, tearing the boat apart, and building a raft to carry the load on, would keep them busy for a month.They won't leave the bay until early May.It happened to be early November in the northern hemisphere at that time, and winter had just begun. Gordon chose the river as the place to pitch the tent, simply because they had to raft the things away.There is nothing simpler and easier to do.For they had no means of carrying all that was in the sailboat through the woods or along the bank, but with rafts they could easily sail upstream as soon as the tide came up.

From what Bryant saw, there were no waterfalls, rapids, or sand dunes upstream to impede navigation.They also sent men in small sailboats to inspect the lower reaches of the river from the swamp to the mouth of the river.Bryant and Moko were convinced they could navigate the creek.This way they could raft from the bay to the Frenchman's Cave. For the next two or three days they made up their bivouac by the river.They used long masts to connect the lower branches of the two beech trees to the branches of another beech to support the large spare canvas.The canvas is attached to the ground on all sides.The tent was set up strong and firm.They moved bedding, cooking utensils, guns and ammunition, and daily necessities packed into bags into the tent.Since wood from the sailboat was used to build the raft, the raft could only be built after the broken sailboat was completely dismantled.

The weather couldn't have been better.It has not rained, and even if there is a little wind, it is blowing from the land.The relocation of the children is proceeding in an orderly manner. By April 15, all that was left on the wreck was those things that were too heavy to move.These things can only be moved after the sailboat is dismantled, including the large plumb for ballasting, the water tank in the cabin, the winch for lifting, and the galley on board.These things are too heavy to be removed without the aid of mechanical devices.As for the mast and shroud.Steel wires, seams, anchors, ropes, steel cables, sounding lines, wool, etc. were slowly moved to the ground outside the tent.

Although they are busy with relocation work every day, they have not forgotten the livelihood of three meals a day.Donagan, Webb, and Wilcox spent several hours a day in the marshes shooting feral pigeons or other birds.Younger children pick up molluscs at low tide.Jenkins, Evanson, Toney and Costa are like a group of ducklings playing in a pond, which is a joy to watch.At times they were severely scolded by Gordon for getting their pant legs wet, but the down-to-earth Bryant forgave them for their mischief.Jack went out with the boys too, but he never laughed as much as the others. The relocation is well under way, thanks to Gordon, whose gutsy strategy seldom goes wrong.Even Donagan allowed him threes.Know that Donagan never backed down from Bryan and anyone else.The children have a good relationship with each other.

But they still have to speed up the process. The weather in mid-April was not so good, the average daily temperature began to drop, and the temperature in the morning even dropped below freezing.Winter is coming soon, and it will be accompanied by wind, rain, snow and ice. The children began to put on warm clothes.They put on thick sweaters and jackets.It was too easy to find these thermal clothing, because Gordon had already recorded them in a notebook by category.Bryant is particularly concerned about those children.When the little ones went swimming, Bryant had to keep their feet from freezing and not lingering in the cold wind.As long as they had the slightest symptoms of cold and fever, he would let them sleep next to the firewood that burned day and night.He would keep Toni and Costa in the tent all day while Moko cooked porridge for the children and found medicine for the children in the medicine chest on the sailboat. When the sailboat was empty, they set about tearing down the cracked wreck.They carefully removed the copper-clad panels on the bottom of the ship.Then they brought the pliers.A crowbar and a hammer to remove the iron and wooden nails that hold the planks firmly together.This is a very tricky trouble.Because children's immature hands have never done such rough work.The shipbreaking process was very slow, and it was not until a storm on April 25 that they were greatly helped. That night, a winter thunderstorm broke out.Lightning flashed across the night sky, and thunder rumbled from midnight to sunrise, making the children tremble with fright.Fortunately it didn't rain.The tent was blown up by the wind several times, but it was not damaged because it was firmly fixed under the tree; but the broken sailboat could not withstand such a strong wind and waves. The ship was finally dismantled, the transverse plates were blown apart, the hull fell apart, and the backbone of the ship was blown off.The whole wreck was a heap of wreckage.This was done impeccably, for the waves carried away very little of what was on board, and what was washed away was quickly held back by the rocks.The next day the children only had to gather the tin sheets from the sand.The beams, planks, and water tanks that were not taken away by the wind and waves lay in disorder on the beach.The kids just had to move these things to the right bank of the river just a few yards from the tent. It takes effort to do such a thing.But no matter how hard it took, the job was finally done.It is unbelievable that these children can pull away such a heavy wood with a concerted effort and shouting.They rolled the big logs across the way on the logs, prying them with the mast now and then.The most difficult thing to move on board is of course the large and heavy winch, kitchen stove and iron water tank.At this time, it would be great if they had someone with experience to guide them!Or the presence of Bryant's father as an engineer and Garnett's father as a captain can help them avoid repeating these mistakes.Baxter is a mechanical hand, and at this time shows his ingenuity and great enthusiasm.According to his proposal, with the assistance of Moko, they drove wooden stakes into the sand and installed pulleys on the wooden stakes, so that the strength of the children increased tenfold.It is this that enables them to accomplish their task. In short, on the night of April 28, all that needed to be removed from the sailboat was moved to the loading place.Undoubtedly the hardest task was accomplished, for they could carry everything to the Frenchman's Cave simply by rafting up the river. Gordon said, "Tomorrow we'll start sending the raft." "Okay," suggested Baxter, "to save the trouble of getting the raft down the river, let's build it on the river." "I'm afraid it won't be that easy." Donagan objected. "It doesn't matter," Gordon said, "let's try it first. Although it increases the difficulty, it saves the trouble of transporting the raft into the river." Obviously, this is the best way.The next morning they set to work on the raft, which had to be built to accommodate the heavier and more numerous cargo. Beams removed from sailing ships, keels broken into several knots, foremasts of mainmasts on deck 3 feet shorter than original, guardrails, center beams, sprigs, beams, mainsail booms, gaffs They were originally placed on the bank of the river.Sea water covers them at high tide.The children waited silently for the high tide.After high tide, the children threw the logs into the river.The longest logs are arranged neatly together and fastened with ropes, and the others are placed across the long logs. Thus they formed a solid frame approximately 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.The children were busy building the raft all day.By evening the frame of the raft was completed.Bryant carefully roped the frame to a large tree on the river bank.In this way, the frame will not be washed to the upper reaches of the river by seawater during high tide; it will not be washed into the sea during low tide.After a stressful day, the kids sat down to dinner with a great appetite and slept through the night. Just after dawn, they went back to work.They built a platform on the frame.At this time, the horizontal plates on the deck and the column poles of the hull can come in handy.They nailed it hard, tied it with ropes, and fastened all the boards and timbers together. In spite of all the efforts of the children, and without delay for a moment, it took three days to build the raft.The puddles around the reef and the banks of the river have formed patches of thin ice.Despite the fire in the tent, it was hard to resist the cold.Even though Gordon and his companions slept crowded together and covered themselves with thick quilts, they were still unbearably cold.Therefore, it is necessary to speed up the process of moving into the cave, hoping to safely spend the severe winter in this high latitude area there. The deck of the raft was made strong so that it would not fall apart during the voyage.If the raft really fell apart, all the cargo would sink to the bottom of the river.In order to avoid such a disaster, they decided to postpone their departure for a day. "Either way," Bryant said, "we can't wait beyond May 6." "Why?" Gordon asked. "Because of the new moon the day after tomorrow, the tide will be higher for a few days after May 6, and the higher the tide, the easier it will be for us to swim against the current. Imagine if we had to support poles or drag such heavy How hard it will be to sail the raft upstream! We must not go against the rules of things." "You're right," Gordon replied, "we'll be leaving in three days at the latest." On May 3, they began to move things onto the raft.They were careful to keep the raft balanced on the water.Everyone participated in the carrying work according to their own strength.Jenkins, Evanson, Thoney, and Costa carried light items such as cookware, tools, and instruments to the deck, where Bryant and Baxter put them away as Gordon directed. The older ones were busy with heavy things like stoves, water tanks, winches, ironwork, hull boards, leftover ribs from sailing boats, transoms, deck railings, and so on.Bags of provisions, casks of liquor and wine, and bags of table salt found on the reef were also moved on board the raft.For ease of handling, Baxter erected two masts, which were secured by four steel wires with a pulley at the end.In this way, things can be hoisted directly and slowly slide from high to low to the raft. Everything was done with great care, and the children were very enthusiastic.By the afternoon of May 5, all preparations were in place.Just wait for the boat to set sail around 8 o'clock the next morning, when the seawater in the estuary just begins to rise. The children thought that there were no other tasks and they could easily spend the afternoon, but Gordon suddenly proposed that there was one more thing to be done. "We're going to be out of the bay soon," Gordon told his companions. "We can't see the sea any more, and even if lifeboats were visible from the island, we can't send a distress signal. So I think It would be best to set up a mast on the cliff, hang a flag, and let it fly in the air, so that every ship passing the island will be noticed." Consequently, the topmast, which had not been used in building the raft, was dragged to the foot of the cliff.Although the slope of the cliff near the river bank is not very steep, it took them a lot of effort to pull the top mast up the rugged slope adjacent to the top of the cliff.But anyway, it worked out.The mast was firmly anchored to the ground, and Baxter hoisted a Union Jack up with halyards.As soon as Donagan saw the flag go up, he fired a shot in salute. "Hey!" Gordon said to Bryant, "Donagan has claimed the island for their British." "What's the matter, it's no wonder that this island does not belong to the British territory!" Bryant said. Gordon's answer was really helpless, because every time he spoke, he always called "my island", as if he had already claimed the island as their American possession. The next morning, as soon as the sun came out, everything was in a commotion.They dismantled the tent and moved the bedding onto the raft.Then cover the raft with canvas to protect it from wind and rain.Things were going very well, except that the wind changed direction and brought in a thick fog over the sea. At 7 o'clock, everything is ready.The raft was well loaded, and Moko had prepared enough food to last them two or three days on board, without having to renew the fire for cooking during the voyage. At half past eight the boys were assembled on the raft.The older boys all held bamboo poles or masts, ready to propel their rafts forward.Because it is going upstream against the current, it is not effective to rely on the rudder alone. Nearly 9 o'clock, the sea water began to rise, and the raft began to creak and groan. "Everyone beware!" Bryant yelled. "Ready!" replied Baxter. They were untying the steel cables that tethered the raft near the river bank. "It's all ready!" Donagan followed suit.He and Wilcox stood at the front of the raft. Soon, the raft was afloat. "Sail!" Bryant ordered. The cables were untied, and the laden raft began to swim upstream, dragging the schooner behind it. Everyone was happy to see the raft start moving.How happy the boys would be if they could build a big steamer to ride the waves!There is nothing wrong with this pride of achievement in children! The right bank of the river is higher than the left bank, and the right bank is surrounded by trees, while the left bank is surrounded by swamps.Bryant, Baxter, Donagan, Wilcox, and Moko did everything they could to keep the raft from hitting the banks.For once the raft ran aground again, there was nothing they could do.At the same time, they had to ensure that the raft did not run sideways, because the tide force along the right bank of the river was stronger, and the height of the river bank was conducive to their pole-holding. Two hours after setting off, they had driven about a mile.Their raft neither ran aground nor stopped.But the river is about 6 miles long, according to Bryant's estimates.And they couldn't expect to sail more than two miles per high tide.In other words, at least two or three times the tide had to rise before they could reach their destination. In fact, the sea water begins to ebb around 11 o'clock.The boys had to scramble to stop the raft so that it would not be washed back into the sea by the sea. At night they dared not sail, for it was too dangerous to do so. "We can't do stupid things," Gordon explained. "We can't let the raft get hit or run aground. If the hit is hard enough, the raft will fall apart. I think we'd better wait until the high tide tomorrow." This wise proposition was accepted unanimously.Although they have to wait 24 hours, there will be a delay, but it is safer than risking the lives of the people on board and the precious cargo. In this way, all afternoon and evening, they can only stay in place. Accompanied by Mimi, Donagan and his active friends quickly climbed up to the river bank. Gordon bade them not to go too far, and they obeyed.Soon they brought back two fat bustards and a bunch of birds with great satisfaction. Moko was in charge of depilating and cleaning, and planned to save these game for the first meal after arriving in the Frenchman's cave-breakfast , lunch or dinner. During the day, Donagan found no traces of human activity in the woods, but he saw some huge birds flying through the sky, but unfortunately he couldn't identify them. At night, Baxter, Webb, and Cross kept watch.Be ready to reinforce the cables that tie the raft if necessary or loosen them a little at high tide.The whole night was uneventful.At about a quarter to ten in the morning the next day, the water rose again.You can continue sailing again.It was cold at night, and so was the day.So, the sooner the raft reaches its destination, the better.But what if the river freezes over?Or what if a chunk of ice from the lake floated down the river toward their raft?These are all questions for children to think about.Along the way, they were worried about this and that, and they couldn't rest assured until they arrived at the Frenchman's Cave safely. They could neither sail faster than the high tide, nor swim upstream after the tide had gone out, nor travel more than a mile in an hour and a half.At last their voyage was half done.About 1 o'clock in the afternoon, they stopped the raft near a swamp.It was the marsh that Bryant had circled before returning to the wreck.Now it is just right to use the gap of the mooring to detect the terrain near the river bank.Moko, Donagan, and Wilcox each rowed a mile and a half north in small sailboats.Because the water was shallow there, it was impossible to go any further.The present swamp seemed to be an extension of the former swamp on the left bank of the river.There seem to be many waterfowl here.To add food, Donagan shot and killed several sand chicks. At night, everything is quiet and cold, and the biting wind blows quietly across the valley. Ice forms on the river, but the ice is so thin that it shatters with just a slight bump or stroke.Although they tried everything to keep warm, they could not keep the cold out on the raft.The children such as Jinkens and Evanson were depressed, and they kept complaining that they should not leave the sailboat.Bryant had to hold them in his arms and coax them to sleep. At last, on the second afternoon, because the high tide lasted until three-thirty in the afternoon, so that, with the help of the tide, the men on the raft finally had a view of the Great Lake.They landed the raft at last just before the entrance to the Frenchman's Cave.