CHAPTER 9
Bread
One by one the family woke up. They laughed at one another for going to sleep on the sand.
“We needed a nap in the middle of the day,” said Mr. Alden. “The sun is very hot.”
“I’d like to see how that breadfruit is getting along,” said Jessie.
“So would I,” said Mike. “It doesn’t look like bread at all.”
“No, only like big green brains,” said Benny.
Over the rocks they went. They walked along the sandy beach. “We ought to call this Shark Bay,” said Mike.
“Good,” said Lars. “That is just what it is. It is very dangerous.”
Everyone was looking at the water. All but Benny. He happened to look the other way. He looked at the woods. Something was moving in the woods. He looked again. A long vine was swinging. One end of the vine was up in a tall tree. The other end went up, too. It went out of sight in another tree.
“A swing!” shouted Benny. “Look at it.”
“Now what do you know!” said Henry. “A real swing.”
Lars walked through the bushes. He pulled on the swing. It did not come down.
“Here, let me sit in it,” cried Mike. He sat down on the big vine and pushed. The swing seemed to be very strong.
“I can go way up high, Ben!” cried Mike excitedly.
“Be careful, Mike,” said Grandfather. “Take it easy. That swing might break suddenly. We don’t want any broken legs here.”
Henry said, “Grandfather, a vine wouldn’t grow like that all by itself, would it?”
“It could grow like that,” said Mr. Alden, “but I don’t think it did. See, all the leaves are off. Someone took off all the leaves.”
“Oh, dear,” said Jessie. “We have a mystery, and it gets worse all the time.”
“I think it gets better all the time,” said Mike, swinging gently. “Someday we will find out who made this swing and who lives here.”
“We have plenty of time, and plenty of clues,” said Benny. “Let me have a swing, too, Mike.”
“No, you come another day and swing,” said Lars suddenly. “We must get back to that breadfruit.”
When Lars took the breadfruit out of the fire, they saw some soft, baked fruit, the shape of enormous eggs. He took them out one by one and put them on big leaves.
“Those leaves are as big as umbrellas,” said Jessie.
“Yes, people use them for umbrellas when it rains,” said Lars. “Now see there are seeds inside the breadfruit.” He took out about thirty seeds. Each was as big as a nut.
“Eat them,” said Lars. “The seeds are nutty and rich. Then you eat the soft part of the fruit with the razor clam shells.”
“We must make those spoons very soon,” said Henry. “We need spoons for everything.”
“I like this,” said Benny. He bit into a seed. “It does taste nutty.”
“I’ll open the canned meat,” said Henry. “Then we’ll have meat and bread together.”
He did so. With cold meat and hot breadfruit, the family enjoyed a full meal. They had bananas for dessert. They did not know that someone was watching them all the time.
The days went by very fast now. Every day brought more surprises. They made the two huts ready for rain, but it did not rain. Every day was beautiful. The Blue Bay was bluer than ever, and the green bay was greener.
One day they all went to the spring for water. Benny looked first at the white shell. It had been moved.
Benny said to himself, “That shell has been moved. It was right next to this white stone. Now it is over on the other side. I bet someone drinks here every day.”
But they never saw anyone. The myna bird did not come back. They dug the sand out of the Explorer II boat and washed it. They pulled it higher on the sand. It looked fine. But this time they did not hear any whine from the treetops.
Everyone had a fine spoon now. They had bowls too. They made a bowl from half a coconut shell. Jessie said, “I like coconut milk better than dry milk now. It is sweeter.”
“I like sugar cane the best,” said Mike. “That is the sweetest of all.”
“Sugar cane is our candy,” said Benny. “We can pick it any time we want to.”
And so the days went by. Nobody ever thought of the Sea Star, because they didn’t want it to come. They were having too good a time. |