The Wonder Island Boys | Page 8

on the part of George, and when the
point was rounded and they were out in the ocean, the tide, although
coming in, had no terrors for them, but they boldly plied the oars, and
before four o'clock had rounded the cliff point, and steered the craft
into the mouth of Cataract River.
The Cataract was a much smaller stream than South River, and it was
on the northern side of the island; whereas South River was on the
southerly side of the island. Less than a quarter of a mile from the open
sea was a cataract, at which their home was located, and the cataract
was utilized as the means for producing water power.
Their appearance below the Cataract was hailed with delight by the
Professor, and you may be sure that when the boat was finally landed
and hauled up on the beach, all of them joined in the congratulations,

which was their due.
"Just to think of it. If we had the boat we made, our lifeboat and all the
parts of the wreck of the other boat, we would have a pretty respectable
navy," was Harry's observation, when they landed. As it was, they now
had the wrecked after part of their own lifeboat, and here was the other
lying alongside. They knew the history of one of them. Would they
soon know why the other should have been found in the interior of the
island under such peculiar circumstances?
"And where did you get the yoke?" asked the Professor, as his eye
caught sight of it.
"Two miles this side of the falls."
They little knew at this time what an important bearing the finding of
this boat would have on their future course, nor could they know how
this little incident would be of the greatest value to some of their
companions on the ill-fated ship.
They now had possession of a boat which, while it was practically
unsinkable, was not of such size as to meet their demands for the
intended explorations. They felt that to attempt to circumnavigate the
island and take all the chances which a meeting with natives might
involve, would necessitate a much larger vessel. To add to the
difficulty, all the pistols but one had been lost in the last trip, and to
attempt to make explorations without proper weapons would be
foolhardy. If they knew one thing, with any degree of certainty, it was
that the island contained savages of some description, and provision
must be made for every contingency.
Harry took upon himself the task of turning out more of the weapons,
and with the experience of the past four months in this line of work,
concluded he would attempt a better job than simply making pistols. It
was his ambition to make a firearm that would enable them to bag the
largest game, and also, at the same time, carry the bullets a greater
distance than the short eight-inch barrels could.

To do this it was necessary to provide longer bits, and as the design of
the new guns contemplated a barrel at least eighteen inches long, the
bits had to be longer, in proportion, and the making of these consumed
nearly as much time as the actual drilling out of the barrels.
George and the Professor put in a great deal of time with the new team.
Their knowledge of training, in view of the former experience with
these animals, was such that within a week they could drive the yaks
without much difficulty, although the new team was not by any manner
of means as efficient as the lost one.
When the question of the kind of material for the guns came up, Harry
was much concerned, as in making the barrels that length would
necessarily greatly increase the weight.
"I think it would be better to make an alloy for your purposes," said the
Professor, as they were discussing the matter.
"What is an alloy?"
"It is the combination of two or more metals."
"In what way does the alloy make it better than the hardest steel?"
"It is not hardness you want, but toughness. Metals have several
properties, which are utilized for various purposes in the arts.
Surprising as it may seem, wood has greater resisting power than
diamond, and yet the precious stone is the hardest of all substances."
"But if we unite two metals are we not then making a new metal?"
"Not necessarily so. In the case of brass it is true. This is made by
uniting two parts of copper and one of zinc. Both copper and zinc in
themselves are very soft, and copper cannot well be polished in its pure
state. Brass, however, is not only much harder, but is susceptible of a
very fine polish."