None of us,
indeed, after a trial, had been able to get a morsel past our
swollen tonsils. But I had a boxful of matches in my trouser pocket,
half-emptied: and, as it turned out, Farrell had preserved another.
So in this most vital necessary we were well supplied. Therefore,
when Farrell, with the dog at his heels, came back along the shore,
holding up two cray-fish that he had taken in a rock-pool at the turn
of the tide, I tossed the gobbets of pork overboard to desecrate the
clear depth. Indeed, apart from fish and fowl, I had seen as we
neared the island that we had no fear of starving: for an abundance
of cocos and palms grew all around the ridge of the crater and had
but to be climbed for as soon as we found strength. The tool-chest
contained a saw and a hatchet.
"It also contained an engineering-tool, part pick, part digger.
I handed it to Farrell, and he understood. 'But first,' said I,
'let's make a fire and fill the pot. There's a plenty of small dead
wood everywhere, and we're too weak just yet to heave this gear any
distance up the slope before sunset.
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