Masterman Ready; Or, The Wreck of the Pacific
Page 29
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.
Ready had cut out and prepared the door-posts and window-frames fromtimber which he had towed round from the cove. He now fixed four polesin the earth upright at each corner, and then, with the assistance ofMr Seagrave, notched every log of cocoa-nut wood on both sides, whereit was to meet with the one crossing it, so that, by laying log upon logalternately, they fitted pretty close, and had only to have the chinksbetween them filled in with cocoa-nut leaves twisted very tight, andforced between them: this was the work of William and Juno when no morelogs were ready for carrying; and, by degrees, the house rose up fromits foundation. The fireplace could not be made at once, as they hadeither to find clay, or to burn shells into lime and build it up withrocks and mortar; but a space was left for it. For three weeks theyworked very hard: as soon as the sides were up, they got on the whole ofthe roof and rafters; and then, with the broad leaves of the cocoa-nuttrees which had been cut down, Ready thatched it very strong andsecurely. At the end of the three weeks the house was secure from theweather; and it was quite time, for the weather had begun to change, theclouds now gathered thick, and the rainy season was commencing.
"We have no time to lose, sir," said Ready to Mr Seagrave. "We haveworked hard, but we must for a few days work harder still. We must fitup the inside of the house, so as to enable Madam to get into it as soonas possible."
The earth in the inside of the house was then beaten down hard, so as tomake a floor; and a sort of bedstead, about two feet from the ground,running the whole length of the house, was raised on each side of theinterior: these were fitted with canvas screens to let down by night.And then Ready and William took the last trip in the boat to fetch thechairs and tables, which they did just before the coming on of the firststorm of the season. The bedding and all the utensils were now takeninto the house; and a little outhouse was built up to cook in, until thefireplace could be made.
It was late on the Saturday night that the family shifted into the newhouse; and fortunate it was that they had no further occasion for delay,for on the Sunday the first storm burst upon them; the wind blew withgreat force; and, although they were shielded from it, still thecocoa-nut trees ground and sawed each other's stems as they bent theirheads to its force. The lightning was vivid, and the thunder appalling,while the rain descended in a continual torrent. The animals left thepastures, and sheltered themselves in the grove; and, although noonday,it was so dark that they could not see to read.
"This, then, is the rainy season which you talked about, Ready," saidMrs Seagrave. "Is it always like this? If so, what shall we do?"
"No, madam; the sun will shine sometimes, but not for long at a time.We shall be able to get out and do something every now and then almostevery day, but still we shall have rain, perhaps, for many days withoutintermission, and we must work indoors."
"How thankful we ought to be that we have a house over our heads; weshould have been drowned in the tents."
"That I knew, madam, and therefore I was anxious to get a house overyour head; let us thank God for it."
"Indeed we ought," observed Mr Seagrave; "and it is, indeed, time forus to read the service."
The morning service was then performed in the new house. Violent as therain was, it did not penetrate through the thatch which had been put on.Ready and William went out to secure the boat, which they were afraidwould be injured, and returned wet to the skin. The storm continuedwithout intermission the whole of the night, but they slept dry andsafe; and, when awakened by the noise of the thunder and the pelting ofthe rain, they thanked God that they had found a dwelling in thewilderness upon which they had been cast.