Page:The Swiss Family Robinson, In Words of One Syllable.djvu/18

10 board a cow, an ass, two goats, six sheep, a ram, a pig, and a sow, and I have found food for them all."

"All that you bring will be of use," said I; "but I fear that Jack's dogs will do us more harm than good."

"Not at all," said Jack, in his pert way, for they can help use to hunt when we get to land."

"Well said, Jack. And now let us see what we can do that will aid us to get there."

We then took the casks that we had found, and as both Ernest and I could use the saw, we soon cut them in half. With these tubs, which were bound round with strong hoops, we made a kind of raft, thought it was no slight task. The tubs, in fact, were a fleet of eight small round boats, made so fast to some planks that no one of them could float from the rest. When we had done this, we sat down to a good meal, which we ate with great zest, for we now felt that we had done our best to earn it.

The next thing to be done was to launch the raft. This we at length did, and when the boys saw it slide down the side of the ship and float on the sea, they gave a loud shout, and each one tried who should be the first to get on it. I made it fast to the ship, and there left it.

It was late ere our work was thus far brought to an end; and, as we had to spend at least one night more on the wreck, I told