The Island School — page 210: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Pek Brodie and Stiff would suflice. . +P 5 5 a) at be eA f) A, 1} V s LAr a Ane (va ye « ’ "a Ay TEKS, v4 yy ea ae 1X ys 7 Re ae bo he yy Se ey a Ey, eA T ea 0 ce ke je 8 ETP ae iets) he ir wos Ke, eae hd ely Cy MAL ae Lhe ioe Sa : ‘ y re . RS ee ny ms ‘ a a ‘qu en tae Pian ene 2 iy, at G< ae, , ace a: Zt Os: PELs Fit yy et: ' as oe ? eae could not be spared, nor Moree. nor | men in the world, but he could not help pitying then indeed any of the council, most of whom | had no Twenty-four hours before, they had been alive and ‘knowledge of boating. ; “Two would be sufficient, 9 said Jim, “and Lal They Sno how to - «manage a boat.” It was decided to put the patie before the two _ youngsters, and give them the opportunity of voting: It was a task entirely for a willing horse. Jim went up to the chamber in which the two boys slept, and found them, as he expected, ah wide- awake. The boys were split up into parties of a dozen or sO, ie and although the chambers were barren enough, eae amade themselves very jolly. They expressed not only their willingness, but eagerness to go on the mission. Ps a a a? =a 'y ‘ ; id sto the boats. ~ mend you to take one that will carry a felucca sail. _ with half-a-dozen rounds of ammunition. - not be spared. ea Oa eens oat ; | “Then all you have to do,” said Jim, “is to get up ~yery early—before daylight, if possible—and get down You can have your choice ; but Irecom- ‘You know how to manage it. All you have to dois to watch for a white squall. Though this is hardly the -season for the coming of such a visitor, it 1s as ve to ‘be prepared. One can never tell whenit comes.’ “Until it is here,” said ale “All right, cap, we -shall be ready in the morning.” “TJ will have a bag of grub got ready for you 4o-night, ” said Jim— enough for three days, in case oh you are obliged to keep to sea, or BL to land on - -gome other part of the island.” | Jim bade them good-night and aa to the” es council, whom he dismissed for the night, being re- _ solved on taking his turn at watching. He faithfully - performed this duty, and Lal Brodie and Stiff, rising “in the morning before the sun, found him in the court- yard awaiting them. He had a bag of provisions and a stone jar of water ready for them, which he | handed over with the comforting assurance that he had but just. descended from the ramparts, and there _ -was nobody on the sands below. He had also written a letter to the Gibraltar Bee eTnor, setting forth the particulars of the fix they were in, and asking for help to drive their foes from the island, or if not, then in escaping therefrom. It was considered advisable that they should carry arms, More could “Tf the need of using it arises,” said Jim, “use it A sparingly, but well. Don't waste a py of powder or _ @ grain of lead.” | He saw them out of thie: castle and down the path, mH waiting at the foot of it until Lal Brodie had swum off to: one of the. anchored boats and paete it nearer in fo r Stiff. | ose by Jim rae three men’ who tnd been shot active. Nowthey were only fitfor the prey of carrion: birds or food for fishes. | As he had no means of interring them, he contaneed | himself with drawing their bodies aside and laying them under the shelter ofa rock, afterwards coveri ag their faces with boughs he pulled from adjacent | bushes. | ae That work of reverence done, he hastened back: to the castle and spent the intervening time between then and breakfast in throwing off the covering of Morse’s charcoal fires, so as to expose and cool the charred wood within. * Later on he and Morse laid it all out to cool, “ial the morning was spent in various forms of labour— — hauling in wood for the fires and filling the tanks near Re the kitchen with water. Up to the present they had been unable to find a well or pump within de castle. : Fas ‘oe —————— . : ae 4 wr CHAPTER XCVI. 5 ial. *. es ‘ THE CASTAWAYS.—A DERELICT VESS EL pee: f ‘ae PAL, Brodie and Stiff in Bh boat speedily found their way out to sea. The boat was_ not the one they used to } take to meet the mails, but one of a similar build, and i it had a felucea sail, little smaller than th: Jim used to manage. They were fully a mile from the shore, when Stif who was steering, fancied he heard some shouting from the rear. He was about to turn his head, wher Brodie signed to him not to do so. | “bn ‘“ Here’s a go!” he said; “ whom do you think it is ?” Stiff did not know, but he was impatient to learn, and was rather exasperated with his companion, who, stooping down by the mast, peered over the gunwale | of the boat, chuckling. Baki “Perhaps ve will tell me who it is, » said Stiff. | ie: “ Four men,” replied Brodie, “all waving their arm: like expiring teetotums. I reckon they are pretty i well worn out.” ange “ But who are they ?” om \ “Tam going to tell youif you will only oat bie time, only for goodness’ sake don’t turn round. ee must sham not hearing them.” “Tf you don’t tell me who they are,” said si will throw that bag of tommy at your head.” _ 4 nin no the handsomest | pit et I am making them out,” said Brodie. : “ The iy a ve 7” hal qu tia ‘e Bi, os aN pi We ‘ ay it len ADR Ste a ee ee set Gi oe se co mick 200 ‘S.co Cc