remained he drew about and scattered loosely in the hold of the vessel.
He did this with a purpose, for he looked forward to the time when some
ship might pass, and it would then be necessary to attract her
attention. There was no way of doing so. He had no pole, and if he had
it might not be noticed. A fire would be the surest way of drawing
attention, and all this wood gave him the means of building one. He
scattered it about on the sand, so that it might dry in the hot sun.

Yet it was also necessary to have some sort of a signal to elevate in
case of need. He had nothing but a knife to work with; yet patient
effort will do much, and after about a week he had cut away the rail
that ran along the quarter-deck, which gave him a pole some twenty feet
in length. The nails that fastened the boards were all rusted so that
they could not be used in attaching any thing to this. He decided when
the time came to tie his coat to it, and use that as a flag. It
certainly ought to be able to attract attention.

Occupied with such plans and labors and purposes as these, the days
passed quickly for two weeks. By that time the fierce rays of the sun
had dried every board and stave so that it became like tinder. The ship
itself felt the heat; the seams gaped more widely, the boards warped and
fell away from their rusty nails, the timbers were exposed all over it,
and the hot, dry wind penetrated every cranny. The interior of the hold
and the cabin became free from damp, and hot and dry.

Then Brandon flung back many of the boards and staves loosely; and after
enough had been thrown there he worked laboriously for days cutting up
large numbers of the boards into fine splints, until at last a huge pile
of these shavings were accumulated. With these and his pistol he would
be able to obtain light and fire in the time of need.