The Young Marooners on the Florida Coast

by John Henry Goldfrap

  CHAPTER XXXV

  HOUSEHOLD ARRANGEMENTS--THIRD VISIT TO THE WRECK--RAINYWEATHER--AGREEMENT ABOUT WORK--MARY IN GREAT DANGER--EXTINGUISHING FIREON ONE'S DRESS--RELIEF TO A BURN--CONVERSATION

  They did not return to the vessel the next day. The work of transportingthe many heavy articles brought, and of giving them accommodation,occupied the whole day. Indeed, the work of arranging was by no meanseasy, for their possessions were now too large for their dwelling. Theywere therefore compelled to make a new room for Sam and his tools, bymeans of some spare sails brought from the wreck; and this led them tothink of erecting still another wing to the tent, as a place of depositfor their stores of provision.

  By Thursday the return tide came at so late an hour in the afternoon,that the boys were loth to go upon the third trip; but there wereseveral other articles of importance that they needed, and intending tomake a short visit, they did not start until near mid-day. On enteringthe vessel their first work was to remove the stove; which being quitenew and recently put up, they had no difficulty in taking to pieces, andlowering, with its appurtenances, into the raft. The work-bench theydetached, with great labour, from the wall, and tumbled it over thevessel's side. From the carpenter's room they carried several sails,two coils of small rope, and a hank of twine. The magazine they did notcare to enter. Most of the powder in the gunner's room was wet, butthere were two large kegs of cannon powder, the outside of which wascaked and ruined, while the central part was perfectly good, and also afive pound canister of superfine rifle powder, which was so tightlysealed that not a particle of damp had entered. These they took. Anddragging out one of the small cannon they managed, after hard work, tolower it, with its appropriate carriage, into the raft, and depositedalong with it several dozen balls, and as many canisters to fit thebore. These, together with the trunks and clothing of the officers, theiron vice, a small kit of mackerel, and the box of cocoanuts,constituted their load. The voyage back was made without accident.

  On landing, their first business was to shelter their powder, for thesky was clouding fast, with long blue belts, that promised rain beforemorning, and the night was rapidly coming on. Unwilling to keep sodangerous a quantity of powder in the tent, they divided it into severalparcels, and concealed them in hollow trees, which they closed andmarked.

  The cannon carriage proved a great convenience in transporting thetrunks, the disjointed parts of the stove, and other heavy articles tothe tent. But even with this assistance they did not complete theirwork before the night set in.

  The next day was wet--wet--wet. The young people continued withindoors, made a particular examination of the trunks, and divided amongthemselves the articles that were serviceable. With these employments,and the fitting up of their stove, they spent all that day, and part ofthe next.

  It was during that evening, as they sat listening to the incessantpatter of the rain upon the canvas roof, that the boys conceived andresolved upon a species of competition, that gave a steady progressionto their work from that time forward.

  "Tomorrow is New Year's Day," observed Harold. "We have been two monthsand a half upon the island. Our first boat is not a quarter finished.Why, Robert, it will be six months before we get away by our ownexertions; and then your father will have left Bellevue."

  "But you forget how many interruptions we have had," replied Robert."First, there was Sam's misfortune, then yours; after that, our removalto the prairie, and securing the tent; then this discovery of the wreck,which has furnished us with food and tools for continuing our workwithout interruption. If I am not mistaken, the end of January will seeus at Bellevue, or on our way there. What do you think, Sam--can wefinish our two boats in a month?"

  "May be so, massa, if we work mighty hard; but it will take a heap o'work."

  "I doubt if we finish them in two months, work as we may," remarkedHarold.

  Robert was not pleased with this discouraging assertion, though he wasstartled to find that the usual prudent Harold entertained such anopinion.

  "Now, cousin," said he, "I will put this matter to the test. As we boysused to say, I'll make a bargain with you. We shall all work on thesecond boat, until it is as far advanced as the present one. Then weshall each take a boat and work. Sam shall divide his time between us.And if at the end of a month we are not ready to return home, I'll giveup that I am mistaken."

  "Give me your hand to that bargain," said Harold. "You shall not beat meworking, if I can help it; but if, with all our efforts, we leave thisisland before the last day of February, I will give up that _I_ ammistaken."

  Faithful to this agreement, the boys went next morning to the landing,and brought the various parts of the work-bench, which they aided Sam infitting up. The grindstone also they set upon its necessary fixtures;and collecting the various tools that were in need of grinding, theypersisted in relieving each other at the crank, until they had sharpenedtwo very dull axes, two adzes, three chisels, a broad ax, and a drawingknife, and stowed them safely under Sam's shelter.

  The history of the day, however, was not concluded without an incidentof a very serious character, in which Mary was the principal, thoughunwilling actress; and in which, but for her presence of mind, she wouldhave met with a painful and terrible death.

  About ten o'clock that night she retired to her room, undressed, and waslaying aside the articles of dress necessary for the next morning, when,turning around, her night clothes touched the flame of the candle,which, for the want of a table, she had set upon the floor. The nextinstant she extinguished the candle, and was about stepping into bed,when her attention was excited by a dim light shining behind her, and aslight roar, that increased as the flame ran up her back. Giving ascream of terror, she was on the point of rushing into the next room forhelp, when recollecting the repeated and earnest injunctions of herfather, she threw herself flat upon the blanket of the bed, and wrappingit tightly round her, rolled over and over upon the floor, calling forhelp. The flame was almost instantly quenched, as it probably would havebeen, even without a blanket, had she only sat down instantly on thefloor, and folded the other part of her dress tightly over the flame.[#]

  [#] _Flame ascends_. All have observed how much more rapidly itconsumes a sheet of paper held with the burning end down, than the samesheet laid on the table. So with a female's dress; an erect postureallows the flame to run almost instantly over the whole person.

  But though the _flame_ was extinguished, the charred ends of the dresswere not; they kept on burning, and coming into contact with the nakedskin, made her scream with pain. The agony was so great, that again shewas almost tempted to throw off the blanket and rush into the open air,but knowing that this would certainly increase the fire, and perhapsrenew the blaze, she drew the blanket more tightly around her, androlled over, calling to Robert, who had by this time come to herassistance. "Pour on water--_water_--WATER!" Robert did his best--hefumbled about for the pitcher, then finding it, asked where the waterwas to be poured; but now that the water was ready to be thrown uponher, Mary felt secure; she cast off the blanket, and the remaining firewas put out by the application of Robert's wet hand.

  The time occupied by this terrifying scene was scarcely a minute and ahalf, yet Mary's night dress was consumed nearly to her shoulders, andher lower limbs were badly scorched. So rapid an agent is fire.Whoever would escape destruction from a burning dress, must work fast,with good judgment and a strong resolution.

  Mary's burns were slight in comparison with what they might have been.The skin was reddened for a foot or more along each limb; but it wasbroken only in two places, about as wide and long as her two fingers.Still the pain was excessive, and she wept and groaned a great deal.Robert applied cold water for a number of minutes, and would havecontinued it longer, but Mary at last said:

  "Bring me a cup full of flour. I have tried it on a burnt finger, andyou can scarcely imagine how cooling it is."

  The flour was brought, and applied by m
eans of handkerchiefs tied overthe raw and blistered parts. Its effect was to form a sort of artificialcuticle over those spots where the skin had been removed; and the softand cool sensation it produced in the other parts was delightful. StillMary appeared to suffer so much, that Robert administered an opiate, ashe did in the case of Sam, and after that he heard no more from heruntil next morning.

  "What a quick, brave girl she is!" said Harold, after Robert haddescribed the scene. "Most girls would have rushed into the open air,and been burned to death."

  "She showed great presence of mind," Robert assented.

  "More than that," said Harold, "she showed great _resolution_. I knew abeautiful girl at school, who had presence of mind enough to wrapherself in the hearth rug, but who could not stand the pain of the fire;she threw off the rug, rushed into the open air, screaming for help, andwas burnt to death in less than two minutes."

  When Mary came from her room next morning her eyes were dull and glassy,from the effects of the medicine, and she had no appetite for more thana cup of coffee. The others met her with more than their usualaffection. Her accident had revealed to them how much they loved her;and her coolness in danger, and fortitude in suffering, had given them agreater respect for her character.

  "We do sincerely thank God, on your account, cousin," said Harold, assoon as they were left alone that Sabbath morning. "It is so seldom aperson meets with such an accident, without being seriously injured."

  "I hope I feel thankful, too," returned Mary. "I could not helpthinking last night, before going to sleep, how uncertain life is. O, Ido wish I were a Christian, as I believe you to be, cousin."

  "Indeed, if I am a Christian at all, I wish you were a far better one,"he replied. "I have neither felt nor acted as I desired, or supposed Ishould."

  "But still you feel and act very differently from us."

  "My feelings are certainly very different from what they used to be, andI thank God that they are. Yet the only particular thing which Irecollect of myself, at the time that I began to feel differently, isthat I was troubled on account of my past life, and wished heartily toserve God. To judge from myself, then, I should say that to _desire toserve God_, is to be a Christian."

  "O, I do desire," said Mary, weeping. "I do, with all my heart. But Iknow I am not what I ought to be. I do not love God; I do not trusthim; I do not feel troubled for sin, as I ought to be; and I have noreason to think that my sins are forgiven."

  "I am a poor preacher, Mary," Harold said, with strong emotion; "for Inever knew anything of these feelings myself, until lately. But this Ican say, that if you will heartily give yourself to God, to be hisservant for ever, and put your trust in his promises, you will beaccepted. Did not Jesus Christ come into this world to save sinners,even the chief? Does he not say, 'Him that cometh to me, I will innowise cast out'? Now what does the Bible mean, but to encourage all whofeel as you do?"

  Mary did not reply; the tears burst through her fingers, and droppedinto her lap. Harold continued,

  "Ever since we came to the island I felt as you feel, until the Sabbathwhen I knelt down in the woods, and gave myself to the Lord. My heartwas very heavy; I knew that I was a sinner needing forgiveness, and thatI had nothing that I could offer as pay; but I read where God offerssalvation 'without money and without price,' and again where he says wemust 'believe on him.' Well, after all that, I could not helpbelieving; it was sweet to pray--sweet to think of God--sweet to readthe Bible--sweet to do whatever was pleasing to Him. I hope it will beso always; and I long for the time when I can return to Bellevue to talkwith your father about these things. Now, cousin, I advise you to trythe same plan."

  He marked several passages of Scripture for her to read; then walkedinto the woods, where he prayed that the Lord would direct her, so as tofind peace by believing in Jesus Christ.