Strange, rough, blasphemous men they seemed to the God-fearing folk of the country.
These were the men wearing hobnailed boots of which David spoke, and there was small doubt in the mind of the boys that the men who had camped on the island and had stolen the boat were from the Grampus River lumber camp.
It proved a tedious undertaking to repair and make seaworthy the damaged boat.

The trees on the island were, for the most part, small gnarled spruce, twisted and stunted by the northern blasts which swept the Bay.

After some search, however, they discovered a white spruce tree suitable for their purpose, with a trunk ten inches in diameter.
David felled it and cut from its butt a two-foot length.

This he proceeded to split into as thin slabs as possible.

Then with their jack-knives the boys began the tedious task of whittling the surfaces of the slabs into smooth boards, first trimming them down to an inch and a half in thickness with the axes.
"How'll we make un fast when we gets un done ?" asked Jamie.