Come on and we'll get the cables aboard."
Two hours of hard work followed. With the cruisers tagging along nearby,
suiting their pace to the slow drift of the schooner, the boys cut away
the wreckage and rigged a jury-mast at the stump of the foremast. On
this they spread a spare forestaysail which they dug from the sail
locker. That it would aid greatly in the ship's progress Steve did not
expect, but it would, he figured, make steering easier. Then the
cruiser's heaviest anchor cables were taken aboard and made fast at the
bow. A "prize crew" consisting of Joe, Han and Perry, from the
_Adventurer_, and Wink and Bert, from the _Follow Me_, was placed in
charge and enough food for two meals supplied them. The galley stove was
still in running order, although it reeked of grease, and there was a
fair supply of wood handy. Bert Alley, who had volunteered to do the
cooking, objected to an inch or so of water that swashed around the
floor, but the others pulled a pair of old rubber boots from a chest in
the forecastle and he became reconciled. At noon they all returned to
their respective cruisers and ate dinner, which, under the conditions,
was no easy matter. They had to hold the dishes to the table and swallow
their tea between plunges.
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