Lady Greystoke suffered far greater anguish than any other of
the castaways, for the blow to her hopes and her already cruelly
lacerated mother-heart lay not in her own privations but in the
knowledge that she might now never be able to learn the fate of her
first-born or do aught to discover his whereabouts, or ameliorate
his condition--a condition which imagination naturally pictured in
the most frightful forms.
For two weeks the party divided the time amongst the various duties
which had been allotted to each. A daylight watch was maintained
from sunrise to sunset upon a bluff near the camp--a jutting shoulder
of rock which overlooked the sea. Here, ready for instant lighting,
was gathered a huge pile of dry branches, while from a lofty pole
which they had set in the ground there floated an improvised distress
signal fashioned from a red undershirt which belonged to the mate
of the Kincaid.
But never a speck upon the horizon that might be sail or smoke
rewarded the tired eyes that in their endless, hopeless vigil
strained daily out across the vast expanse of ocean.
It was Tarzan who suggested, finally, that they attempt to construct
a vessel that would bear them back to the mainland. He alone
could show them how to fashion rude tools, and when the idea had
taken root in the minds of the men they were eager to commence
their labours.
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