“In a minute,” said the mate. “What about filling the kettle? I used all the water last night to damp the fire.”
John picked up the kettle, and went down to the landing-place. He dipped the spout of the kettle under, so that water came into the kettle through the spout instead of through the hole at the top where the lid is. If he had simply dipped the whole kettle, the water would have poured in, bringing with it any scum that might be floating about. By dipping the spout, he drew his water from below the surface. By the time he came back with the full kettle, Susan was already busy at her fire, pulling aside what was left of the earth clods, and putting new sticks on the red fire that was underneath.
Titty was looking out of her tent.
“Let’s keep it alight forever and ever,” she said. “We will keep it burning, all our lives, and then our children, and then their children. It’ll be like the fire in a savage temple that never goes out at all.”
“Probably in temples they have oil lamps,” said Susan. “They have them in some churches. This is a real fire.”
“Well, it hasn’t gone out either,” said Titty, half asleep.
The fire blazed up well, and Susan hung the kettle over it.
“I think I can leave it while I bathe,” she said.
“Come on, Roger,” said Captain John, reaching into his tent and pulling the blankets off the boy, “let’s see you swim with both feet on the bottom.”
“One,” said Roger, “and not all the time.”
Two minutes later all the Swallows were in the water.