They tried the door to the brig, but found it locked and bolted. In vain Dick kicked against it, and shoved with his shoulder. It re fused to budge.
"This looks as if we'd have to stay here—at least for the present," said Dick, with a. sigh. "I must say I don't like the prospect."
"How long do ye calculate we've been here, lad?"
"There is no telling, unless by my watch." But when he looked at the timepiece, he found that it had stopped.
They ate some of the biscuits and drank some water and rested for a while longer. Outside the wind blew furiously and they heard the rain and the waves dash in all directions. Then some water came trickling in slowly, at one corner.
"It seems to me as if the wreck was shifting," cried Dick presently.
"It won't shift very far in this bed o' sand, lad. But she may break up and go to pieces," added old Jerry.
"If she goes down, we'll be drowned like rats in a trap," said Dick. "We must get out somehow."
They talked the matter over and began a systematic examination of their prison. The four
