Chapter 3
When Ralph finished explaining the plan, Jack's eyes had grown to immense proportions.
"I think you've gone officially batty," he exclaimed. "what do you know about building a canoe? We don't have any supplies."
Roger glanced over his shoulder as a few of the littleuns brought collections of fruit for breakfast into the cave. Everyone had specific duties on Castle Rock, and still regarded Ralph with caution until Jack forced them to give him a piece of mango.
"Best take mine as well," he added when Ralph accepted a piece of the fruit. "I'm not hungry."
Ralph sighed, taking a bite of the melon. "Building the canoe is the only chance we have of getting off the island," he said, and Jack turned his head, peering into the darkness. A cool breeze blew through the entrance, sending with it a gentle sea spray.
"As long as all of us work together we'll be able to build a really strong canoe."
"That'll hold twenty of us?" Jack asked, narrowing his eyes.
"No," Ralph replied, "I would go. My Daddy was a commander in the navy, so he taught me a lot about sailing."
Jack straightened up. "I thought your father was a pilot," he said, and Ralph shook his head.
"No. He'd be coming by on a ship if anything."
Jack closed his eyes, exhaustion settling in. He felt hot and cold at the same time; it was now he regretted having gotten rid of his school shirt. Ralph pulled Roger outside once they got Morris to sit with Jack, and the twins were thrilled to discover the plan for building a boat.
"Why haven't we thought of it before?" Eric asked, and Sam folded his arms.
"Because Jack was a tosh pot, that's why," he said, and Roger scowled.
"It's about time something happened to make him see some sense," Sam whispered as Roger began organizing a construction group. Bamboo would be the best backdrop to use for a boat, and they would use their spears and rocks to chop it down.
"Jack won't stop shaking," Morris called through the cave entrance, and Ralph looked up, deciding to remove his shirt--or what remained of it.
"Roger, send them to start getting the supplies..we need long and short bamboo poles."
He watched as they left the shelter, feeling some of his control returning. He and Roger tried their best to make Jack comfortable, continuatlly wetting the wound.
"Why do you care so much?' Ralph finally brought up the question as he and Roger sat at the mouth of the cave while Jack slept on. "You never cared about anyone else on the island. Why are you suddenly so worried about Jack?"
Roger looked at the ceiling, hugging his knees to his chest. He didn't like displaying emotion in public, and fought against it once again.
"He's like my brother," he explained. "myMom died the second year after I started going to boarding school, and I joined the choir. Jack was headboy, and he suggested it, because he heard me singing to myself one day as I was walking by myself in the hall. My Dad was never around, so after Mum passed, I came to live with Jack during the holidays. His parents treated me like their own son." he drug a hand across his nose, and leaned his chin on his knees. "So that's why."
Ralph noded in understanding, chewing on his bottom lip. "Why did you kill Piggy?" he asked, and Roger stared at him, just as Jack began moaning in his sleep, thrashing wildly from nightmares. Roger was on his feet at once, and dashed away from Ralph.
Meanwhile, construction the canoe was moving along slowly on the beach. Bamboo was not too difficult of a plant to work with, and as long as the spears were planed in a certain angle and belted with a rock, it was easy to chop. Ralph went down to oversee the crew every couple of hours, and was proud to see how fast they were building once they got going. The twins were especially eager to get the canoe finished, and worked harder than anyone else on the team.
Jack continued to worsen over the next couple of days, his fever rising at night and dropping ever so slightly during the day.
By the end of that week, the base and the sides had finally been put in rows and lashed together with vines, but storm clouds rolled in on a regular basis, delaying the process.
"Are you sure it's safe to go out on the ocean with the weather being like this?" Henry called over the roar of the wind once they decided to carry the canoe back to Castle Rock and finish it there.
"It won't last forever," Ralph promised. "When the weather clears, we'll do a test run and make sure the boat even floats."
The twins gave each other a horrified look. "Is it possible it won't?" Sam squeaked, and Ralph shrugged.
"That's why we're doing a test," he explained, and they leaned against the wall.
"We thought of something," the twins spoke in unison, and Ralph stared at them. "you need a sail!"
"A sail?" Ralph put his hands on his hips, and cocked his head to the side.
"Sure! To catch the wind and make the canoe go faster. Plus, you can put SOS on it in case a ship sees you!" Bill added, with a big grin on his face. Ever since the construction on the canoe began, the boys began to gravitate towards Ralph again. He wasn't sure how the mentality of the hunters changed so fast, but he wasn't about to question them about it. It was hard to believe they were on the trail to kill him earlier that week.
"That's a good idea," he agreed, "but what'll we use? Most of you are naked, and my shirt's too torn up."
"Palm leaves," the twins replied at once, and before Ralph could say anything further, dashed off to find enough palm leaves once the rain and wind died down.
Luckily once everything was ready for take off, the weather had cleared. The clouds broke leaving the sky a brilliant blue, and the sun was beating down on them again. Ralph hoped he would meet up with a ship or a plane quickly, because Jack was not able to function well at this point. He was so deep into the fever that he barely recognized anyone, and hardly kept any food or drink in his stomach.
"Let's test it out," the rest of the boys cheered once the final bamboo poles on the canoe were fastened together. Ralph offered to have one of the others relieve Roger from guard duty over Jack, but he refused.
"No," he replied firmly, and Ralph raised his hands in the air, before helping the others carry the canoe down to the beach. They were covered with sweat by the time they reached the water, and Ralph wanted to jump in and swim immediately.
Once they had the boat on the sand at the waters edge, he climbed into it. The bamboo was definitely not comfortable, but that didn't matter given the circumstances. He shouted for them to give him a push, and everyone in the group shoved the canoe into the ocean. Ralph let out a cheer as it remained afloat for almost five minutes, driving lightly over the small waves. He eventually hopped out of the boat, and pulled it back to shore. The water felt great, and he dove under for a moment to wet his hair before coming onto the beach. Everyone cheered with delight at the success, raising their spears in the air.
"First thing tomorrow morning I'll shove off," Ralph announced, and the twins nodded.
"Shouldn't one of us go with you? Is it safe to go alone?" they asked, and Ralph smiled at them as they trecked back to Castle Rock.
"It's too dangerous," he replied. "It's safer for one person to go in that boat, especially since it might not be stable enough to hold more than me."
They glanced at each other with uncertainty, but it was best not to argue.
That night everyone sat watching Jack who slept in a feverish haze, his eyes twitching under their lids. Roger finally agreed to be relieved, in order to get some rest, and Ralph took over the post. He was thrilled at the idea of being on a boat again, but he had to make sure he had provisions in case the sailing took longer than expected. He was out of the cave at the crack of dawn collecting coconuts, mangoes, bananas, and whatever else he could find that wouldn't be too heavy for the boat.
When the rest of the boys awoke, they gathered on the beach to see him off for the official rescue. "If this works I'll never hate you again," Roger said; Morris allowed him to go down to the beach while he kept an eye on Jack.
"Thanks?" Ralph said, and Roger shrugged. "All right, everyone, I wanted to thank all of you for helping me with this canoe. Hopefully I'll be back within a day or two, especially if I make it to the shipping lanes."
"Good luck!" everyone shouted as he hopped back into the canoe, and ordered them all to push at once. He felt the boat give a great jerk as the other boys shoved against it, and eventually felt the smootheness of the water take it under its wing. Ralph glanced over his shoulder and waved rapidly, using a pole as an oar.
The twins watched, fascinated, as the boat drifted further and further into the distance, and soon disappeared entirely.
"I hope we know what we're doing," they whispered, noticing how windy it had become.