He saw too, that if the
leaves had their veins running parallel with the midrib they would
be stronger. He made search and at length found leaves that seemed
made for his purpose. They were thick and leathery and tapered from
base to apex like a triangle.
He now proceeded with his hat-making. He would take a leaf and lay
it on the ground with the base toward him. Then he laid the hoop on
the base of the leaf, wrapped it around the hoop and fastened it with
thorns. He did the same with the other leaves. The thorns were his
pins. At last he pinned the tips of the leaves together at the top
and the hat was ready. It looked just like a big cone, but it kept
out the heat of the sun.
Robinson now had corn and bananas and when he was thirsty he drank
a handful of water from the spring. He had been now nine days on the
island. Every day he looked out on the sea until his eyes ached to
see if he might discover a ship.
He could not understand why no ship came his way. "Who knows how long
I must wait here?" said he sorrowfully. Then the thought came to him:
"You will not be able to keep track of the days unless you write it
down."
XI
ROBINSON'S CALENDAR
The matter of keeping track of time puzzled Robinson very much. It
was getting more difficult every day to keep it in his memory. He must
write down the days as they slip by, but where and how? He had neither
pen, ink, nor paper. Should he mark every day with a colored stone
on the smooth side of the huge rock wall within whose clefts he had
dug out his cave? But the rain would wash off the record and then he
would lose all his bearings.
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