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explained. “It’s hard going; most of the plants are mimosa, or cactus, or similar thorny shrubs and trees. But up above there’s a kind of rain forest. It’s much warmer there, and there’s grass and some flowers.”
    â€œAnd you ought to see the birds,” Joe put in. “All kinds, and they’re almost tame. They flew right down to us.”
    Dr. Grimes nodded. “I am certain there are no other people on this island. The birds have never seen men before. We found a little river and a number of groves of papaya and banana, as well as some other fruits I believe to be a species of mango. Joe climbed one of the papaya trees. They have a smooth trunk and no lower branches, and he lost his footing and fell. It’s quite swampy there, and he landed on his front in the mud.”
    â€œThen we followed the stream down,” Joe said. “It comes out on the other side of those rocks and falls to a shelf about twenty feet below, and then into the sea. You can’t see it from here because of that ridge of rock.”
    Dr. Grimes had brought back a bucket full of water. He hung it in the shade and looked about him. “This is a good spot for a camp,” he said. “But where’s the shelter you were going to build? I’m afraid, my dear Bullfinch, you were not as practical as we.”
    â€œOn the contrary, we’ve already made the first tool,” said the Professor complacently, and pointed to the stone ax, still embedded in the tree trunk.
    All four now went to work in earnest on the shelter. Using the ax, the Professor cut two long, slender saplings, trimming away the branches to leave a fork at the top of each. With their pocketknives the boys sharpened the bottoms. Then Danny tried to push one of them into the ground.
    â€œYou ought to have made a stone hammer,” Joe said, as Danny puffed over the work. “Let’s find a hunk of stone and make a pounding tool.”
    Professor Bullfinch, wiping his streaming forehead, was standing nearby. He smiled, and held up the ax. “What do you think this is?” he said.
    â€œWhy, you said it was an ax.”
    The Professor turned it in his hand. “One edge is sharp, yes, but the back is blunt. Isn’t it a hammer as well?”
    Danny whistled. “Oh, what a dope I am!” he said.
    â€œNot at all. You simply judged by the look of a thing, and by what people say of it. As a scientist you should keep an open mind.”
    Using the back of the ax, they drove the uprights into the ground and laid another long pole across the forks. Then they cut a number of other branches and tied them along the top pole slantwise, with their ends resting on the ground.
    They stood back to examine their work with pride.
    â€œIt’s not pretty,” Joe remarked, “but it’s home. I wonder for how long?”
    â€œNot long, let us hope,” said the Professor. “Our original plan was excellent, but I hardly expected to be marooned.”
    Dr. Grimes said, “I think we ought to take stock of our supplies and see what we have. We may have to stay here for several weeks.”
    They all went down to the beach, where they had left the raft and their supplies. They had saved pitifully little. There was a single blanket, and a cardboard box in which twenty K-ration cartons remained. There was the raft’s emergency chest, containing fishhooks, signal flares, a repair kit containing glue and patches, the folding bucket, a large first-aid kit, a flashlight, a compass, and fifty feet of light strong cord. There were two empty canteens, a coil of nylon rope, and a large knife with a cork handle.
    There was also a waterproof sack containing something that looked like a ukulele with the neck broken off. Dr. Grimes pounced on this with an exclamation of pleasure.
    â€œThis may prove the best tool of all,” he said. “It’s the emergency radio transmitter. Now we’ll be able