If it
hadn't been for that wreck to draw on Robinson Crusoe would have starved
to death in twenty-four hours!"
"Of course!" exclaimed Steve. "That's the idea!"
"What, starve?" asked Joe distastefully.
"No, you idiot, go out to the _Adventurer_ and get some gasoline!"
"Sure!" agreed Ossie. "Only--just when we were getting dry at last--"
"What's the matter with stripping," asked Steve cheerfully, suiting
action to word. "Is there a can or anything I can put it in, Ossie?"
"There's a jug in the starboard locker. There's about a pint of vinegar
in it, but I guess we can sacrifice that."
"Drink it, Steve, and save it," suggested Perry.
The tide had retreated further by now and the bow of the cruiser was
almost beyond the breakers and Steve's journey was not difficult. When
he got back, with the vinegar jug filled with gasoline hung around his
neck, he reported the _Adventurer_ waist-deep in water at the stern.
"You fellows start the fire," he said, "and I'll go back and bring some
grub ashore. There's no reason for starving with food handy."
Joe volunteered to accompany him, and, after disrobing and putting his
damp clothes under a stone to keep them from blowing away, he and Steve
plunged back into the water.
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