CHAPTER VIII
ON THE ISLAND
Amos made no answer to his sister's frightened exclamation. He was wellused to the harbor, as he often went fishing with his father, and had beenon cruises of several days. Tide and wind both took the boat swiftlytoward Long Point, a low, narrow sand-beach, which ran out into theharbor.
"We'll run straight into Long Point if the wind don't change," said Amos.
Anne had held fast to her line and now felt it tugging strongly in hergrasp.
"I've caught something!" she exclaimed, "and I don't believe I can everpull it in."
Amos reached across and seized the line. "Gee!" he exclaimed, "I'll betit's a cod," and he pulled valiantly. It took all the boy's strength toget the big fish into the boat. "I'll bet it weighs ten pounds," declaredAmos proudly, quite forgetting in his pleasure over the big fish that theboat was still moving swiftly away from the settlement.
"Amos, Amos, just see how fast we are going," said Amanda; "we'll becarried right out to sea."
"Well, then some vessel will pick us up and bring us back," answered herbrother, "but it looks now as if we would bring up on Long Point, and wecan walk home from there easy enough. It's only a couple of miles."
"Perhaps we could get home before they missed us," suggested Anne,hopefully.
Amos nodded; he was still busy with the big fish, but in a few moments hebegan to look anxiously ahead.
"The wind's pulling round to the southeast," he said. "I guess we sha'n'thit Long Point after all."
"We're going right into Wood End," declared Amanda, "or else to HousePoint Island. Oh, Amos, if we land on that island nobody will ever findus."
"It will be better to land anywhere than to be carried beyond Race Point,"said Amos; "the wind is growing stronger every minute."
The three children no longer felt any interest in their fish-lines. Amoshad drawn his line in when they started off from shore, and Amanda had letgo of hers when the first oar was lost. Anne was the only one who had kepta firm hold on her line, and now she drew it in and coiled it carefullyaround the smooth piece of wood to which it was fastened.
"I'll get this boat ashore some way," declared Amos boldly; "if we runnear any land I'll jump overboard with the painter and pull the dory toshore. I'll get up in the bow now so's to be ready."
Neither of the little girls said anything. Amanda was ready to cry withfear, and Anne was watching the sky anxiously.
"The sun is all covered up with clouds," she said, and before Amos couldanswer there came a patter of raindrops. The wind, too, increased in forceand the waves grew higher. Anne and Amanda crouched low in the boat, whileAmos in the bow peered anxiously ahead.
Within the curve of the shore of Race Point lay House Point Island, whereAmos hoped they might land. It was a small island partly covered withscrubby thickets but no tall trees, and with shallow water all about it.Amos was sure that he could pull the clumsy boat to shore if the windwould only set a little in that direction. The September afternoon wasgrowing late, the sky was now completely overcast, and the rain fallingsteadily.
"We're getting near the island," said Amos. "I'll slide overboard in aminute, and all you girls need do is keep still till I tell you to jump,"and Amos, the painter of the dory in one hand, slipped over the high bowof the boat and struck out for shore. He was a strong swimmer, and managedto change the course of the boat so that it swung in toward the shallowwater, and in a few minutes Amos got a foothold on the sand, and pulledstrongly on the rope until the boat was well out of the outward sweep ofthe current.
"Now jump out," he commanded; "you on one side, Anne, and Amanda on theother, and take hold of the side and help pull the boat ashore."
The two girls obeyed instantly, and the three dripping children struggledup the beach, pulling the dory beyond reach of the tide.
"We must be sure this boat is safe," said Amos; "if we can get it up alittle further, we can tip it up on one side and crawl under and get outof the rain."
The codfish, plaice and flounder Amos took out carefully and carried to alarge rock further up the beach. "We'll have to eat those fish if we stayhere very long," he said.
It grew dark early and the children, under the shelter of the boat, peeredout at the rushing waves, listened to the wind, and were very glad thatthey were on shore, even if it was an island and miles away from home.
"Nobody can find us to-night," said Anne, "but prob'ly to-morrow morning,first thing, my Uncle Enos and your father will take a boat and comesailing right down after us."
"How will they know where we are?" whimpered Amanda. "We'll have to stayhere always; I know we shall."
"If we do I'll build a brush house," said Amos hopefully, "and there'slots of beach-plums grow on this island, I've heard folks say; and we'llcook those fish and I'll bet I can find mussels along the shore."
"We can't cook anything," said Anne, "for we can't make any fire."
"I can make a fire when things get dry," said Amos; "how do you supposeIndians make fires when they are off like this? An Indian doesn't carewhere he is because he knows how to get things to eat and how to cookthem, and how to make a shelter. I've wished lots of times that I'd hadthe chances to learn things that Indians have."
The boat proved a shelter against the wind, and the long night wore slowlyaway. Amos slept soundly, but neither Anne nor Amanda could sleep, exceptin short naps from which they quickly awakened. The storm ceased in thenight and the sun came up and sent its warm beams down on the shiveringchildren, who crept out from the dory and ran and jumped about on the sanduntil they were quite warm and very hungry.
Amos went searching along the shore for the round dark-shelled musselswhich he knew were good to eat, and Anne and Amanda went up toward thethick-growing bushes beyond the sand-banks to look for beach-plums.
"Look, Anne! Look! Did you ever see so many on one bush?" exclaimedAmanda, and the bush was indeed well filled with the appetizing fruit.
"We must take a lot to Amos," said Anne, "for he is getting mussels for usnow."
"Yes, indeed," agreed Amanda; "do you suppose they will come after us thismorning, Anne?"
"Of course they will, first thing," replied Anne hopefully, so that Amandagrew more cheerful, and when they got back to the boat with aprons full ofbeach-plums and found Amos waiting for them with a fine lot of freshmussels they quite forgot to be troubled or unhappy. The sun was shiningbrightly, the blue water looked calm and smooth, and the wind had entirelygone. They ate the plums and mussels hungrily.
"We'd better look around a little," said Amos, when they had finished,"and see if we can find a good place for a brush house. We ought to buildit near the shore so that we can keep a watch for any passing boat."
"Won't father find us to-day?" asked Amanda anxiously.
"Can't tell," replied her brother; "anyway we want to get ready to build ahouse, for we might have to stay here a week."
"I believe you want to stay a week, Amos Cary!" exclaimed his sister.
"I'd just as soon stay as not," said Amos, "if I can find some rotten woodlike the Indians use to start a fire; but it isn't much use to look for ituntil things begin to dry up."
Amos, followed closely by the little girls, went up the bank and toward aplace where grew a thicket of small pines. "We can break off a lot ofthese branches and carry them down to the shore," he said, "and fix somebeds of them under one side of the dory. It will be better than sleepingon the sand."
They made several trips back and forth to the boat with armfuls of pineboughs until they each had quite a pile, long and wide enough for a bed,and high enough to keep them well off the sand. But Amos was notsatisfied.
"This sand-bank makes a good back for a house," he said; "now if we couldonly build up sides, and fix some kind of a roof, it would make a finehouse."
"Won't the dory do for one side?" asked Anne.
"No," said Amos, "but we can pile up heaps of sand here on each side ofour beds, right against this sand-bank, and that will
make three sides ofa house, and then we'll think of something for the roof."
So they all went to work piling up the sand. It was hard work, and it tooka long time before the loose sand could be piled up high enough for Anneand Amanda to crouch down behind.
"I'm dreadful hungry," said Amanda, after they had worked steadily forsome time; "let's rest and eat some mussels and beach-plums," and Amos andAnne were both quite ready to stop work.
"It must be past noon now," said Amos, looking at the sun, "and therehasn't a boat come in sight."
Anne had begun to look very serious. "My Aunt Martha may think that I haverun away," she said, as they sat leaning back against the piles of warmsand.
"No, she won't," Amos assured her, "for they'll find out right off thatAmanda and I are gone, and father's dory, and it won't take father orCaptain Enos long to guess what's happened; only they'll think that wehave been carried out to sea."
The little girls were very silent after this, until Amos jumped up saying:"I've just thought of a splendid plan. We'll pile up sand just as high aswe can on both sides. Then I'll take those fish-lines and cut them inpieces long enough to reach across from one sand heap to the other, andtie rocks on each end of the lines and put them across."
"I don't think fish-lines will make much of a roof," said Amanda.
"And after I get the lines across," went on Amos, not heeding what hissister had said, "we'll lay these pine boughs across the lines. See? Wecan have the branches come well over each side and lap one row overanother and make a fine roof," and Amos jumped about, greatly pleased withhis own invention.
They all returned to piling up sand and before sunset had made wallstaller than their heads, and Amos had put the lines across and thecovering of pine boughs, so that it was nicely roofed in.
"It will be a lot better than sleeping under the dory," said Anne, as theylooked proudly at the little shelter, "and there's pine boughs enough leftfor beds, too!"
"We can get more to-morrow," said Amos, "and we'll have a fire to-morrowif I can only find some punk, and cook those fish."
"But I want to go home to-morrow," said Amanda; "I know my mother wantsme. We've got a boat; can't you make an oar and row us home, Amos?"
"There isn't anything to make an oar out of," answered Amos.
They made their supper on more mussels and beach-plums, and then lay downon their beds of boughs in the little enclosure. They could see the moonshining over the water, the big dory hauled up in front of their shelter,and they all felt very glad that they were not drifting out at sea.
Amos had many plans in his head, and was eager for another day to comethat he might carry them out, but Amanda and Anne went to sleep hopingonly that the next day would see one of the big fishing-boats of ProvinceTown come sailing up to the island to take them safely home.