Hurrah, my boys, pull away!" As we dragged our boat, we observed that she grated heavily on her keel; and, as the sands were in this place mingled with broken coral rocks, we saw portions of the wood being scraped off.
"Hallo!" cried Jack, on seeing this.

"That won't do.

Our keel will be worn off in no time at this rate." "So it will," said I, pondering deeply as to how this might be prevented.
But I am not of a mechanical turn, naturally, so I could conceive no remedy save that of putting a plate of iron on the keel, but as we had no iron I knew not what was to be done.

"It seems to me, Jack," I added, "that it is impossible to prevent the keel being worn off thus." "Impossible!" cried Peterkin, "my dear Ralph, you are mistaken, there is nothing so easy--" "How ?" I inquired, in some surprise.
"Why, by not using the boat at all!" replied Peterkin.
"Hold your impudent tongue, Peterkin," said Jack, as he shouldered the oars, "come along with me and I'll give you work to do.

In the first place, you will go and collect cocoa-nut fibre, and set to work to make sewing twine with it--" "Please, captain," interrupted Peterkin, "I've got lots of it made already,--more than enough, as a little friend of mine used to be in the habit of saying every day after dinner." "Very well," continued Jack; "then you'll help Ralph to collect cocoa-nut cloth, and cut it into shape, after which we'll make a sail of it.