I'll see to getting the mast and the gearing; so let's to work." And to work we went right busily, so that in three days from that time we had set up a mast and sail, with the necessary rigging, in our little boat.

The sail was not, indeed, very handsome to look at, as it was formed of a number of oblong patches of cloth; but we had sewed it well by means of our sail-needle, so that it was strong, which was the chief point.

Jack had also overcome the difficulty about the keel, by pinning to it a _false_ keel.

This was a piece of tough wood, of the same length and width as the real keel, and about five inches deep.

He made it of this depth because the boat would be thereby rendered not only much more safe, but more able to beat against the wind; which, in a sea where the trade-winds blow so long and so steadily in one direction, was a matter of great importance.