The Project Gutenberg eBook of Masterman Ready, by Frederick Marryat

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Masterman Ready - by Captain Marryat

Chapter I

It was in the month of October,educational programming kits for 4 year olds 18—, that the Pacific, a large ship,was running before a heavy gale of wind in the middle of the vastAtlantic Ocean. She had but little sail, for the wind was so strong,that the canvas would have been split into pieces by the furious blastsbefore which she was driven through the waves, which were very high,and following her almost as fast as she darted through their boilingwaters; sometimes heaving up her stern and sinking her bows down sodeep into the hollow of the sea, that it appeared as if she would havedived down underneath the waves; but she was a fine vessel, and thecaptain was a good seaman, who did what he considered best for thesafety of his vessel, and then put his trust in that Providence who isever watchful over us.

The captain stood before the wheel, watching the men who were steeringthe ship; for when you are running before a heavy gale, it requiresgreat attention to the helm: and as he looked around him and up at theheavens, he sang in a low voice the words of a sea song:

"One wide water all around us,
All above us one black sky."

And so it was with them;—they were in the middle of the Atlantic, notanother vessel to be seen, and the heavens were covered with blackclouds, which were borne along furiously by the gale; the sea ranmountains high, and broke into large white foaming crests, while thefierce wind howled through the rigging of the vessel.

Besides the captain of the ship and the two men at the wheel, therewere two other personages on deck: one was a young lad about twelveyears old, and the other a weather-beaten old seaman, whose grislylocks were streaming in the wind, as he paced aft and looked over thetaffrail of the vessel.

The young lad, observing a heavy sea coming up to the stern of thevessel, caught hold of the old man's arm, crying out - "Won't thatgreat wave come into us, Ready?"

"No, Master William, it will not: don't you see how the ship lifts herquarters to it?—and now it has passed underneath us. But it mighthappen, and then what would become of you, if I did not hold on, andhold you on also? You would be washed overboard."

"I don't like the sea much, Ready; I wish we were safe on shore again,"replied the lad. "Don't the waves look as if they wished to beat theship all to pieces?"

"Yes, they do; and they roar as if angry because they cannot bury thevessel beneath them: but I am used to them, and with a good ship likethis, and a good captain and crew, I don't care for them."

"But sometimes ships do sink, and then everybody is drowned."

"Yes; and very often the very ships sink which those on board think aremost safe. We can only do our best, and after that we must submit tothe will of Heaven."

"What little birds are those flying about so close to the water?"

"Those are Mother Carey's chickens. You seldom see them except in astorm, or when a storm is coming on."

The birds which William referred to were the stormy petrels.

"Were you ever shipwrecked on a desolate island like Robinson Crusoe?"

"Yes, Master William, I have been shipwrecked; but I never heard ofRobinson Crusoe. So many have been wrecked and undergone greathardships, and so many more have never lived to tell what they havesuffered, that it's not very likely that I should have known that oneman you speak of, out of so many."

"Oh! but it's all in a book which I have read. I could tell you allabout it—and so I will when the ship is quiet again; but now I wishyou would help me down below, for I promised mamma not to stay uplong."

"Then always keep your promise like a good lad," replied the old man;"now give me your hand, and I'll answer for it that we will fetch thehatchway without a tumble; and when the weather is fine again, I'lltell you how I was wrecked, and you shall tell me all about RobinsonCrusoe."

Having seen William safe to the cabin door, the old seaman returned tothe deck, for it was his watch.

Masterman Ready, for such was his name, had been more than fifty yearsat sea, having been bound apprentice to a collier which sailed fromSouth Shields, when he was only ten years old. His face was brownedfrom long exposure, and there were deep furrows on his cheeks, but hewas still a hale and active man. He had served many years on board of aman-of-war, and had been in every climate: he had many strange storiesto tell, and he might be believed even when his stories were strange,for he would not tell an untruth. He could navigate a vessel, and, ofcourse, he could read and write. The name of Ready was very well suitedto him, for he was seldom at a loss; and in cases of difficulty anddanger, the captain would not hesitate to ask his opinion, andfrequently take his advice. He was second mate of the vessel.

The Pacific was, as we have observed, a very fine ship, and well ableto contend with the most violent storm. She was of more than fourhundred tons burthen, and was then making a passage out to New SouthWales, with a valuable cargo of English hardware, cutlery, and othermanufactures. The captain was a good navigator and seaman, and moreovera good man, of a cheerful, happy disposition, always making the best ofeverything, and when accidents did happen, always more inclined tolaugh than to look grave. His name was Osborn. The first mate, whosename was Mackintosh, was a Scotsman, rough and ill-tempered, but payingstrict attention to his duty - a man that Captain Osborn could trust,but whom he did not like.

Ready we have already spoken of, and it will not be necessary to sayanything about the seamen on board, except that there were thirteen ofthem, hardly a sufficient number to man so large a vessel; but just asthey were about to sail, five of the seamen, who did not like thetreatment they had received from Mackintosh, the first mate, had leftthe ship, and Captain Osborn did not choose to wait until he couldobtain others in their stead. This proved unfortunate, as the eventswhich we shall hereafter relate will show.

Chapter II

Master William, whom we have introduced to the reader, was the eldestboy of a family who were passengers on board, consisting of the father,mother, and four children: his father was a Mr. Seagrave, a verywell-informed, clever man, who having for many years held an officeunder government at Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, was nowreturning from a leave of absence of three years. He had purchased fromthe government several thousand acres of land; it had since risen verymuch in value, and the sheep and cattle which he had put on it wereproving a source of great profit. His property had been well managed bythe person who had charge of it during his absence in England, and hewas now taking out with him a variety of articles of every descriptionfor its improvement, and for his own use, such as furniture for hishouse, implements of agriculture, seeds, plants, cattle, and many otherthings too numerous to mention.

Mrs. Seagrave was an amiable woman, but not in very strong health. Thefamily consisted of William, who was the eldest, a clever, steady boy,but, at the same time, full of mirth and humour; Thomas, who was sixyears old, a very thoughtless but good-tempered boy, full of mischief,and always in a scrape; Caroline, a little girl of seven years; andAlbert, a fine strong little fellow, who was not one year old: he wasunder the charge of a black girl, who had come from the Cape of GoodHope to Sydney, and had followed Mrs. Seagrave to England. We have nowmentioned all the people on board of the Pacific: perhaps we ought notto forget two shepherd's dogs, belonging to Mr. Seagrave, and a littleterrier, which was a great favourite of Captain Osborn, to whom shebelonged.

It was not until the fourth day from its commencement that the galeabated, and then it gradually subsided until it was nearly a calm. Themen who had been watching night after night during the gale now broughtall their clothes which had been drenched by the rain and spray, andhung them up in the rigging to dry: the sails, also, which had beenfurled, and had been saturated by the wet, were now loosened and spreadout that they might not be mildewed. The wind blew mild and soft, thesea had gone down, and the ship was running through the water at thespeed of about four miles an hour. Mrs. Seagrave, wrapped up in acloak, was seated upon one of the arm-chests near the stern of theship, her husband and children were all with her enjoying the fineweather, when Captain Osborn, who had been taking an observation of thesun with his sextant, came up to them.

"Well, Master Tommy, you are very glad that the gale is over?"

"I didn't care," replied Tommy, "only I spilt all my soup. But Junotumbled off her chair, and rolled away with the baby, till papa pickedthem both up."

"It was a mercy that poor Albert was not killed," observed Mrs.
Seagrave.

"And so he might have been, if Juno had not thought only of him andnothing at all about herself," replied Mr. Seagrave.

"That's very true, sir," replied Captain Osborn. "She saved the child,and, I fear, hurt herself."

"I thump my head very hard," said Juno, smiling.

"Yes, and it's lucky that you have a good thick woolly coat over it,"replied Captain Osborn, laughing.

"It is 12 o'clock by the sun, sir," said Mackintosh, the first mate, tothe captain.

"Then bring me up the latitude, Mr. Mackintosh, while I work out thelongitude from the sights which I took this morning. In five minutes,Mr. Seagrave, I shall be ready to prick off over our place on thechart."

"Here are the dogs come up on deck," said William; "I dare say they areas glad of the fine weather as we are. Come here, Romulus! Here, Remus!- Remus!"

"Well, sir," said Ready, who was standing by them with his quadrant inhis hand, "I should like to ask you a question. Those dogs of yourshave two very odd names which I never heard before. Who were Romulusand Remus?"

"Romulus and Remus," replied Mr. Seagrave, "were the names of twoshepherds, brothers, who in ancient days founded the city of Rome,which eventually became the largest and most celebrated empire in theworld. They were the first kings of Rome, and reigned together. Historysays that Remus affronted Romulus by leaping over a wall he had raised,and Romulus, in his anger, took away his life; but the history of earlydays is not to be depended upon."

"No, nor the brothers either, it appears," replied Ready; "however, itis the old story - two of a trade can never agree. One sometimes hearsof Rome now - is that the same place?"

"Yes," replied William, "it is the remains of the old city."

"Well, one lives and learns," said Ready. "I have learnt somethingto-day, which everyone will to the last day of his life, if he willonly ask questions. I'm an old man, and perhaps don't know much, exceptin the seafaring way; but I should have known much less if I did notask for information, and was not ashamed to acknowledge my ignorance;that's the way to learn, Master William."

"Very good advice, Ready, - and, William, I hope you will profit byit," said Mr. Seagrave; "never be ashamed to ask the meaning of whatyou do not understand."

"I always do, papa. Do I not ask you questions, Ready?"

"Yes, you do, and very clever questions for a boy of your age; and Ionly wish that I could answer them better than I can sometimes."

"I should like to go down now, my dear," said Mrs. Seagrave; "perhaps
Ready will see the baby down safe."

"That I will, ma'am," said Ready, putting his quadrant on the capstan:"now, Juno, give me the child, and go down first; - backwards, youstupid girl! how often do I tell you that? Some day or another you willcome down with a run."

"And break my head," said Juno.

"Yes, or break your arm; and then who is to hold the child?"

As soon as they were all down in the cabin, the captain and Mr.Seagrave marked the position of the vessel on the chart, and found thatthey were one hundred and thirty miles from the Cape of Good Hope.

"If the wind holds, we shall be in to-morrow," said Mr. Seagrave to hiswife. "Juno, perhaps you may see your father and mother."

Poor Juno shook her head, and a tear or two stole down her dark cheek.With a mournful face she told them, that her father and mother belongedto a Dutch boor, who had gone with them many miles into the interior:she had been parted from them when quite a little child, and had beenleft at Cape Town.

Chapter III

The next morning the Pacific arrived at the Cape and anchored in Table
Bay.

"Why do they call this Table Bay, Ready?" said William.

"I suppose it's because they call that great mountain the Table
Mountain, Master William; you see how flat the mountain is on the top."

"Yes, it is quite as flat as a table."

"Yes, and sometimes you will see the white clouds rolling down over thetop of it in a very curious manner, and that the sailors call spreadingthe tablecloth: it is a sign of bad weather."

"Then I hope they will not spread the tablecloth while we are here,Ready," said William, "for I shall certainly have no appetite. We havehad bad weather enough already, and mamma suffers so much from it. Whata pretty place it is!"

"We shall remain here two days, sir," said Captain Osborn to Mr.
Seagrave, "if you and Mrs. Seagrave would like to go on shore."

"I will go down and ask Mrs. Seagrave," said her husband, who went downthe ladder, followed by William.

Upon the question being put to Mrs. Seagrave, she replied that she wasquite satisfied with the ship having no motion, and did not feelherself equal to going on shore; it was therefore decided that sheshould remain on board with the two younger children, and that, on thefollowing day, Mr. Seagrave should take William and Tommy to see CapeTown, and return on board before night.

The next morning, Captain Osborn lowered down one of the large boats,and Mr. Seagrave, accompanied by Captain Osborn, went on shore withWilliam and Tommy. Tommy had promised his mamma to be very good; butthat he always did, and almost always forgot his promise directly hewas out of sight. As soon as they landed, they went up to a gentleman'shouse, with whom Captain Osborn was acquainted. They stayed for a fewminutes to drink a glass of lemonade, for it was very warm; and then itwas proposed that they should go to the Company's Gardens and see thewild beasts which were confined there, at which William was muchdelighted, and Tommy clapped his hands with joy.

"What are the Company's Gardens, papa?" inquired William.

"They were made by the Dutch East India Company, at the time that theCape of Good Hope was in their possession. They are, properly speaking,Botanical Gardens; but, at the same time, the wild animals are keptthere. Formerly there were a great many, but they have not been paidattention to lately, for we have plenty of these animals in Englandnow."

"What shall we see?" said Tommy.

"You will see lions, Tommy, a great many in a large den together," said
Captain Osborn.

"Oh! I want to see a lion."

"You must not go too near them, recollect."

"No, I won't," said Tommy.

As soon as they entered the gates, Tommy escaped from Captain Osborn,and ran away in his hurry to see the lions; but Captain Osborn caughthim again, and held him fast by the hand.

"Here is a pair of very strange birds," said the gentleman whoaccompanied them; "they are called Secretaries, on account of thefeathers which hang behind their heads, as the feather of a pen doeswhen a clerk puts it behind his ear: but they are very useful, for theyare snake-killers; indeed, they would, if they could, live altogetherupon snakes, which they are very great enemies to, never letting oneescape. They strike them with their feet, and with such force as tokill them immediately."

"Are there many snakes in this country?" inquired William.

"Yes, and very venomous snakes," replied Mr. Seagrave; "so that thesebirds are very useful in destroying them. You observe, William, thatthe Almighty, in his wisdom, has so arranged it that no animal(especially of a noxious kind) shall be multiplied to excess, but keptunder by being preyed upon by some other; indeed, wherever in anycountry an animal exists in any quantity, there is generally foundanother animal which destroys it. The Secretary inhabits this countrywhere snakes exist in numbers, that it may destroy them: in England thebird would be of little value."

"But some animals are too large or too fierce to be destroyed byothers, papa; for instance, the elephant and the lion."

"Very true; but these larger animals do not breed so fast, andtherefore their numbers do not increase so rapidly. For instance, apair of elephants will not have more than one young one in the space oftwo years or more; while the rabbits, which are preyed upon and thefood of so many other beasts as well as birds, would increaseenormously, if they were not destroyed. Examine through the whole ofcreation, and you will find that there is an unerring hand, whichinvariably preserves the balance exact; and that there are no moremouths than for which food is provided, although accidentalcircumstances may for a time occasion a slight alteration."

They continued their walk until they came to the den of the lions. Itwas a large place, in closed with a strong and high wall of stone, withonly one window to it for the visitors to look at them, as it was openabove. This window was wide, and with strong iron bars running from thetop to the bottom; but the width between the bars was such that a lioncould put his paw out with ease; and they were therefore cautioned notto go too near. It was a fine sight to see eight or ten of thesenoble-looking animals lying down in various attitudes, quiteindifferent apparently to the people outside—basking in the sun, andslowly moving their tufted tails to and fro. William examined them at arespectful distance from the bars; and so did Tommy, who had his mouthopen with astonishment, in which there was at first not a little fearmixed, but he soon got bolder. The gentleman who had accompanied them,and who had been long at the Cape, was relating to Mr. Seagrave andCaptain Osborn some very curious anecdotes about the lion. William andthey were so interested, that they did not perceive that Tommy hadslipped back to the grated window of the den. Tommy looked at thelions, and then he wanted to make them move about: there was one finefull-grown young lion, about three years old, who was lying downnearest to the window; and Tommy took up a stone and threw it at him:the lion appeared not to notice it, for he did not move, although hefixed his eyes upon Tommy; so Tommy became more brave, and threwanother, and then another, approaching each time nearer to the bars ofthe window.

All of a sudden the lion gave a tremendous roar, and sprang at Tommy,bounding against the iron bars of the cage with such force that, hadthey not been very strong, it must have broken them. As it was, theyshook and rattled so that pieces of mortar fell from the stones. Tommyshrieked; and, fortunately for himself, fell back and tumbled head overheels, or the lion's paws would have reached him. Captain Osborn andMr. Seagrave ran up to Tommy, and picked him up: he roared with frightas soon as he could fetch his breath, while the lion stood at the bars,lashing his tail, snarling, and showing his enormous fangs.

"Take me away—take me on board the ship!" cried Tommy, who wasterribly frightened.

"What did you do, Tommy?" said Captain Osborn.

"I won't throw any more stones, Mr. Lion; I won't indeed!" cried Tommy,looking terrified towards the animal.

Mr. Seagrave scolded Tommy well for his foolish conduct, and by degreeshe became more composed; but he did not recover himself until they hadwalked some distance away from the lion's den.

They then looked at the other animals which were to be seen, Tommykeeping a most respectful distance from every one of them. He wouldn'teven go near to a Cape sheep with a broad tail.

When they had seen everything, they went back to the gentleman's houseto dinner; and, after dinner, they returned on board.

Chapter IV

The following morning the fresh water and provisions were received onboard, and once more the Pacific stretched her broad canvas to thewinds, and there was every prospect of a rapid voyage, as for many daysshe continued her passage with a fair wind and flowing sheet. But thisdid not continue: it fell calm, and remained so for nearly three days,during which not a breath of wind was to be seen on the wide expanse ofwater; all nature appeared as if in repose, except that now and then analbatross would drop down at some distance from the stern of thevessel, and, as he swam lazily along with his wings half-furled, pickup the fragments of food which had been thrown over the side.

"What great bird is that, Ready?" inquired William.

"It is an albatross, the largest sea-bird we have. Their wings are verylong. I have seen them shot, and they have measured eleven feet fromthe tip of one wing to the tip of the other when the wings have beenspread out."

"It is the first one that I have seen," said William.

"Because you seldom meet them north of the Cape, sir: people do saythat they go to sleep on the wing, balancing themselves high up in theair."

"Papa," said William, turning to Mr. Seagrave, who stood by, "why is itthat one bird can swim and another cannot? You recollect when Tommydrove the hens into the large pond, they flounced about, and theirfeathers became wet, and would support them no longer, and then theywere drowned. Now, how does a sea-bird contrive to remain so long onthe water?"

"Because a sea-bird, William, is provided with a sort of oil on purposeto anoint the outside of its feathers, and this oil prevents the waterfrom penetrating them. Have you not observed the ducks on shoredressing their feathers with their bills? They were then using this oilto make their feathers waterproof."

"How odd!"

"Don't say how odd, William; that is not an expression to use when wetalk of the wonderful provisions made by the Almighty hand, whoneglects not the meanest of his creatures - say rather, how wonderful!"

"That's very true, sir," observed Ready; "but still you must not be toohard upon Master William, for I have heard many a grownup man make useof the same expression."

On the third day of the calm, the barometer fell so low as to induceCaptain Osborn to believe that they should have a severe gale, andevery preparation was made to meet it, should it come on. Nor was hemistaken: towards midnight the clouds gathered up fast, and as theygathered up in thick piles, heaped one over the other, the lightningdarted through them in every direction; and as the clouds rose up, sodid the wind, but at first only in heavy gusts, and then lulling againto a calm.

"Ready," said Captain Osborn, "how do you think we shall have thewind?"

"Why, Captain Osborn, to tell you the truth, I don't think it will besteady to one point long. It may at first blow hard from the north, butit's my idea it will shift soon to some other quarter, and blow stillharder."

"What think you, Mackintosh?"

"We'll have plenty of it, and a long steady gale, that's my notion; andthe sooner we ship the dead lights the better."

Mr. Seagrave, with William, happened to be standing by at the time ofthis conversation, and at the term dead lights Willie's face expressedsome anxiety. Ready perceived it, and said—

"That's a foolish name they give to the shutters which go over thecabin windows to prevent the water from breaking into the cabin when avessel sails before the wind; you know we had them on the last timethat we had a gale."

"But, Ready," said Captain Osborn, "why do you think that we shall havea shift of wind?"

"Well, I don't know; perhaps I was wrong," replied the old man, "andMr. Mackintosh is right: the wind does seem to come steady from thenorth-east, that's certain;" and Ready walked away to the binnacle, andlooked at the compass. Mr. Seagrave and William then went below, andMr. Mackintosh went forward to give his orders. As soon as they wereall gone, Ready went up again to Captain Osborn and said:

"Captain Osborn, it's not for me to contradict Mr. Mackintosh, butthat's of little consequence in a time like this: I should have held tomy opinion, had it not been that the gentleman passenger and his sonwere standing by, but now, as the coast is clear, I tell you that weshall have something worse than a gale of wind. I have been in theselatitudes before, and I am an old seaman, as you know. There'ssomething in the air, and there has been something during the lastthree days of calm, which reminds me too well of what I have seen herebefore; and I am sure that we shall have little better than ahurricane, as far as wind goes - and worse in one point, that it willlast much longer than hurricanes generally do. I have been watching,and even the birds tell me so, and they are told by their nature, whichis never mistaken. That calm has been nothing more than a repose of thewinds previous to their being roused up to do their worst; and that ismy real opinion?"

"Well, and I'm inclined to agree with you, Ready; so we must sendtopgallant yards down on deck, and all the small sails and lumber outof the tops. Get the trysail aft and bent, and lower down the gaff. Iwill go forward."

Their preparations were hardly complete before the wind had settled toa fierce gale from the north-east. The sea rose rapidly; topsail aftertopsail was furled; and by dusk the Pacific was flying through thewater with the wind on her quarter, under reefed foresail and stormstaysail. It was with difficulty that three men at the wheel could keepthe helm, such were the blows which the vessel received from the heavyseas on the quarter. Not one seaman in the ship took advantage of hiswatch below to go to sleep that night, careless as they generally are;the storm was too dreadful. About three o'clock in the morning the windsuddenly subsided; it was but for a minute or two, and then it againburst on the vessel from another quarter of the compass, as Ready hadforetold, splitting the foresail into fragments, which lashed andflogged the wind till they were torn away by it, and carried far toleeward. The heavens above were of a pitchy darkness, and the onlylight was from the creaming foam of the sea on every side. The shift ofwind, which had been to the west-north-west, compelled them to alterthe course of the vessel, for they had no chance but to scud, as theynow did, under bare poles; but in consequence of the sea having takenits run from the former wind, which had been north-east, it was, assailors call it, cross, and every minute the waves poured over theship, sweeping all before their weight of waters. One poor man waswashed overboard, and any attempt made to save him would have beenunavailing. Captain Osborn was standing by the weather gunnel, holdingon by one of the belaying-pins, when he said to Mackintosh:

"How long will this last, think you?"

"Longer than the ship will," replied the mate gravely.

"I should hope not," replied the captain; "still it cannot look worse.
What do you think, Ready?"

"Far more fear from above than from below just now," replied Ready,pointing to the yard-arms of the ship, to each of which were littleballs of electric matter attached, flaring out to a point. "Look atthose two clouds, sir, rushing at each other; if I—"

Ready had not time to finish what he would have said, before a blaze oflight, so dazzling that it left them all in utter darkness for someseconds afterwards, burst upon their vision, accompanied with a peal ofthunder, at which the whole vessel trembled fore and aft. A crash - arushing forward - and a shriek were heard, and when they had recoveredtheir eyesight, the foremast had been rent by the lightning as if ithad been a lath, and the ship was in flames: the men at the wheel,blinded by the lightning, as well as appalled, could not steer; theship broached to - away went the mainmast over the side - and all waswreck, confusion, and dismay.

Fortunately the heavy seas which poured over the forecastle soonextinguished the flames, or they all must have perished; but the shiplay now helpless, and at the mercy of the waves beating violentlyagainst the wrecks of the masts which floated to leeward, but werestill held fast to the vessel by their rigging. As soon as they couldrecover from the shock, Ready and the first mate hastened to the wheelto try to get the ship before the wind; but this they could not do, as,the foremast and mainmast being gone, the mizenmast prevented herpaying off and answering to the helm. Ready, having persuaded two ofthe men to take the helm, made a sign to Mackintosh (for now the windwas so loud that they could not hear each other speak), and, going aft,they obtained axes, and cut away the mizen-rigging; the mizen-topmastand head of the mizenmast went over the side, and then the stump of theforemast was sufficient to get the ship before the wind again. Stillthere was much delay and confusion, before they could clear away thewreck of the masts; and, as soon as they could make inquiry, they foundthat four of the men had been killed by the lightning and the fall ofthe foremast, and there were now but eight remaining, besides CaptainOsborn and his two mates.

Chapter V

Sailors are never discouraged by danger as long as they have any chanceof relieving themselves by their own exertions. The loss of theirshipmates, so instantaneously summoned away, - the wrecked state of thevessel, - the wild surges burying them beneath their angry waters, -the howling of the wind, the dazzling of the lightning, and the pealingof the thunder, did not prevent them from doing what their necessitydemanded. Mackintosh, the first mate, rallied the men, and contrived tofix a block and strap to the still smoking stump of the foremast; arope was rove through the block, and the main-topgallant sail hoisted,so that the vessel might run faster before the gale, and answer herhelm better than she did.

The ship was again before the wind, and comparatively safe,notwithstanding the heavy blows she now received from the pursuingwaves. Night again came on, but there was no repose, and the men wereworn out with exposure and fatigue.

The third day of the gale dawned, but the appearances were as alarmingas ever: the continual breaking of the seas over the stern had washedaway the binnacles, and it was impossible now to be certain of thecourse the ship had been steered, or the distance which had been run;the leaky state of the vessel proved how much she had already sufferedfrom the violent shocks which she had received, and the certainty wasapparent, that if the weather did not abate, she could not possiblywithstand the force of the waves much longer.

The countenance of Captain Osborn showed great anxiety: he had a heavyresponsibility on his shoulders - he might lose a valuable ship, andstill more valuable cargo, even if they did not all lose their lives;for they were now approaching where the sea was studded with low coralislands, upon which they might be thrown by the waves and wind, withouthaving the slightest power to prevent it in their present disabledcondition.

Ready was standing by him when Captain Osborn said—

"I don't much like this, Ready; we are now running on danger and haveno help for it."

"That's true enough," replied Ready: "we have no help for it; it is
God's will, sir, and His will be done."

"Amen!" replied Captain Osborn solemnly; and then he continued, after apause, "There were many captains who envied me when I obtained commandof this fine ship, - would they change with me now?"

"I should rather think not, Captain Osborn, but you never know what theday may bring forth. You sailed with this vessel, full of hope - younow, not without reason, feel something approaching to despair; but whoknows? it may please the Almighty to rebuke those angry winds andwaves, and to-morrow we may again hope for the best; at all events youhave done your duty - no man can do more."

"You are right," replied Captain Osborn; "but hold hard, Ready, thatsea's aboard of us."

Ready had just time to cling with both hands to the belaying-pins whenthe sea poured over the vessel, with a volume of water which for sometime swept them off their legs: they clung on firmly, and at lastrecovered their feet.

"She started a timber or two with that blow, I rather think," said
Ready.

"I'm afraid so; the best vessel ever built could not stand such shockslong," replied Captain Osborn; "and at present, with our weak crew, Ido not see that we can get more sail upon her."

All that night the ship flew in darkness before the gale. At daybreakthe wind abated, and the sea went down: the ship was, however, stillkept before the wind, for she had suffered too much to venture to puther broadside to the sea. Preparations were now made for getting upjury-masts; and the worn-out seamen were busily employed, under thedirection of Captain Osborn and his two mates, when Mr. Seagrave andWilliam came upon deck.

William stared about him: he perceived, to his astonishment, that thetall masts, with all their rigging and sails, had disappeared, and thatthe whole deck was in a state of confusion and disorder.

"See, my child," said Mr. Seagrave, "the wreck and devastation whichare here. See how the pride of man is humbled before the elements ofthe great Jehovah."

"Ay, Master Willy," said old Ready, "look around you, as you well may.Do you remember the verses in the Bible? - if not, I remember themwell, for I have often read them, and have often felt the truth ofthem: 'They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in greatwaters, these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep'."

"But, father," said Willy, after a pause, "how shall we ever get to
Sydney without masts or sails?"

"Why, William," replied Ready, "we must do what we can: we sailors arenever much at a loss, and I dare say before night you will find usunder some sort of sail again. We have lost our great masts, so we mustput up jury-masts, as we call them; that is, little ones, and littlesails upon them; and, if it pleases God, we shall see Sydney yet. Howis Madam, sir?" continued Ready to Mr. Seagrave. "Is she better?"

"I fear she is very weak and ill," replied Mr. Seagrave; "nothing butfine weather will do her any good. Do you think that it will be finenow?"

"Why, sir, to tell you the truth, I fear we shall have more of it yet:I have not given my thoughts to the captain, as I might be mistaken;but still I think so - I've not been fifty years at sea withoutlearning something. I don't like the gathering of that bank there, Mr.Seagrave, and I shouldn't wonder if it were to blow again from the verysame quarter, and that before dark."

"God's will be done," replied Mr. Seagrave, "but I am very fearfulabout my poor wife, who is worn to a shadow."

"I shouldn't think so much about that, sir, as I really never knew ofpeople dying that way, although they suffer much. William, do you knowthat we have lost some of our men since you were down below?"

"No - I heard the steward say something outside about the foremast."

"We have lost five of our smartest and best men - Wilson was washedoverboard, Fennings and Masters struck dead with the lightning, andJones and Emery crushed by the fall of the foremast. You are young,Master Willy, but you cannot think too early of your Maker, or call tomind what they say in the burial service, - 'In the midst of life weare in death'."

"Thank you, Ready, for the lesson you have given my son," said Mr.
Seagrave; "and, William, treasure it up in your memory."

"Yes, William, they are the words of an old man who has seen many andmany a one who was full of youth and spirits called away before him,and who is grateful to God that he has been pleased to preserve hislife, and allow him to amend his ways."

"I have been thinking," said Mr. Seagrave, after a silence of a minuteor two, "that a sailor has no right to marry."

"I've always thought so, sir," replied Ready; "and I dare say many apoor deserted sailor's wife, when she has listened to the wind and rainin her lonely bed, has thought the same."

"With my permission," continued Mr. Seagrave, "my boys shall never goto sea if there is any other profession to be found for them."

"Well, Mr. Seagrave, they do say that it's no use baulking a lad if hewishes to go to sea, and that if he is determined, he must go: now Ithink otherwise - I think a parent has a right to say no, if hepleases, upon that point; for you see, sir, a lad, at the early age atwhich he goes to sea, does not know his own mind. Every high-spiritedboy wishes to go to sea - it's quite natural; but if the most of themwere to speak the truth, it is not that they so much want to go to sea,as that they want to go from school or from home, where they are underthe control of their masters or their parents."

"Very true, Ready; they wish to be, as they consider they will be,independent."

"And a pretty mistake they make of it, sir. Why, there is not a greaterslave in the world than a boy who goes to sea, for the first few yearsafter his shipping: for once they are corrected on shore, they arepunished ten times at sea, and they never again meet with the love andaffection they have left behind them. It is a hard life, and there havebeen but few who have not bitterly repented it, and who would not havereturned, like the prodigal son, and cast themselves at their fathers'feet, only that they have been ashamed."

"That's the truth, Ready, and it is on that account that I considerthat a parent is justified in refusing his consent to his son going tosea, if he can properly provide for him in any other profession. Therenever will be any want of sailors, for there always will be plenty ofpoor lads whose friends can do no better for them; and in that case theseafaring life is a good one to choose, as it requires no other capitalfor their advancement than activity and courage."

Chapter VI

Mr. Seagrave and William went down below into the cabin, where theyfound that there was plenty of employment; the steward had brought abasin of very hot pea-soup for the children. Tommy, who was sitting upin the bed-place with his sister, had snatched it out of Juno's lefthand, for she held the baby with the other, and in so doing, had thrownit over Caroline, who was screaming, while Juno, in her hurry to assistCaroline, had slipped down on the deck with the baby, who was alsocrying with fright, although not hurt. Unfortunately, Juno had fallendown upon Vixen the terrier, who in return had bitten her in the leg,which had made Juno also cry out; while Mrs. Seagrave was hanging herhead out of her standing bed-place, frightened out of her wits at theaccident, but unable to be of any assistance. Fortunately, Mr. Seagravecame down just in time to pick up Juno and the baby, and then tried tocomfort little Caroline, who after all was not much scalded, as thesoup had had time to cool.

"Massa Tommy is a very naughty boy," cried Juno, rubbing her leg.Master Tommy thought it better to say nothing - he was duly admonished- the steward cleaned up the mess, and order was at length restored.

In the meantime, they were not idle upon deck; the carpenter was busyfixing a step for one of the spare topmasts instead of a mainmast, andthe men were fitting the rigging; the ship unfortunately had sprung aleak, and four hands at the pumps interfered very much with their task.As Ready had prophesied, before night the gale blew, the sea rose againwith the gale, and the leaking of the vessel increased so much, thatall other labour was suspended for that at the pump. For two more daysdid the storm continue, during which time the crew were worn out withfatigue - they could pump no longer: the ship, as she rolled, provedthat she had a great deal of water in her hold - when, melancholy aswere their prospects already, a new disaster took place, which wasattended with most serious results. Captain Osborn was on theforecastle giving some orders to the men, when the strap of the blockwhich hoisted up the main-topgallant yard on the stump of the foremastgave way, the yard and sail came down on the deck, and struck himsenseless. As long as Captain Osborn commanded them, the sailors had sohigh an opinion of his abilities as a seaman, and were so encouraged byhis cheerful disposition, that they performed their work well andcheerfully; but now that he was, if not killed, at all events senselessand incapable of action, they no longer felt themselves under control.Mackintosh was too much disliked by the seamen to allow his words tohave any weight with them. They were regardless of his injunctions orrequests, and they now consulted among themselves.

"The gale is broke, my men, and we shall have fine weather now,"observed Ready, going up to the sailors on the forecastle. "The wind isgoing down fast."

"Yes," replied one of the men, "and the ship is going down fast, that'squite as certain."

"A good spell at the pumps would do us some good now," replied Ready.
"What d'ye say, my lads?"

"A glass of grog or two would do us more," replied the seaman. "Whatd'ye say, my boys? I don't think that the captain would refuse us, poorfellow, if he could speak."

"What do you mean to do, my lads?" inquired Mackintosh: "not get drunk,
I hope?"

"Why not?" observed another of the men; "the ship must go down soon."

"Perhaps she may - I will not deny it," said Mackintosh; "but that isno reason why we should not be saved: now, if you get drunk, there isno chance of any one being saved, and my life is precious to me. I'mready to join with you in anything you please, and you may decide whatis to be done; but get drunk you shall not, if I can help it, that'scertain."

"And how can you help it?" replied one of the seamen, surlily.

"Because two resolute men can do a great deal - I may say three, for inthis instance Ready will be of my side, and I can call to my assistancethe cabin passenger - recollect the firearms are all in the cabin. Butwhy should we quarrel? - Say at once what you intend to do; and if youhave not made up your minds, will you listen to what I propose?"

As Mackintosh's courage and determination were well known, the seamenagain consulted together, and then asked him what he proposed.

"We have one good boat left, the new yawl at the booms: the others, asyou know, are washed away, with the exception of the little boatastern, which is useless, as she is knocked almost to pieces. Now wecannot be very far from some of the islands, indeed I think we areamong them now. Let us fit out the boat with everything we require, goabout our work steadily and quietly, drink as much grog as will nothurt us, and take a good provision of it with us. The boat is completewith her masts, sails, and oars; and it's very hard if we do not saveourselves somewhere. Ready, do I give good advice or not?"

"You give very good advice, Mackintosh - only what is to become of thecabin passengers, the women, and children? and are you going to leavepoor Captain Osborn? or what do you mean to do?"

"We won't leave the captain," said one of the seamen.

"No - no!" exclaimed the others.

"And the passengers?"

"Very sorry for them," replied the former spokesman; "but we shall haveenough to do to save our own lives."

"Well, my lads, I agree with you," said Mackintosh. "Charity begins athome. What do you say I - shall it be so?"

"Yes," replied the seamen, unanimously; and Ready knew that it was invain to expostulate. They now set about preparing the boat, andproviding for their wants. Biscuits, salt pork, two or three smallcasks of water, and a barrel of rum were collected at the gangway;Mackintosh brought up his quadrant and a compass, some muskets, powderand shot; the carpenter, with the assistance of another man, cut awaythe ship's bulwarks down to the gunnel, so as to enable them to launchthe boat overboard, for they could not, of course, hoist her out nowthat the masts were gone. In an hour everything was prepared. A longrope was made fast to the boat, which was brought to the gunnel readyfor launching overboard, and the ship's broadside was brought to thewind. As this was done, Mr. Seagrave came on deck and looked aroundhim.

He perceived the boat ready for launching, the provisions and water atthe gangway, the ship brought to the wind, and rolling slowly to theheave of the sea; at last he saw Ready sitting down by Captain Osborn,who was apparently dead. "What is all this, Ready?" inquired Seagrave."Are they going to leave the ship? have they killed Captain Osborn?"

"No, sir, - not quite so bad as that. Poor Captain Osborn was struckdown by the fall of the yard, and has been insensible ever since; but,as to the other matter, I fear that is decided: you see they arelaunching the boat."

"But my poor wife, she will never be able to go - she cannot move - sheis so ill!"

"I'm afraid, Mr. Seagrave, that they have no idea of taking either you,or your wife, or your children, with them."

"What! leave us here to perish I Merciful Heaven! how cruel - howbarbarous!"

"It is not kind, Mr. Seagrave, but still you see it is the law ofnature. When it is a question of life, it is every one for himself, forlife is sweet: they are not more unkind than they would be to eachother, if there were too many for the boat to hold. I've seen all thisbefore in my time," replied Ready, gravely.

"My wife! my children!" cried Mr. Seagrave, covering his face with hishands. "But I will speak to them," continued he after a pause; "surelythey will listen to the dictates of humanity; at all events Mr.Mackintosh will have some power over them. Don't you think so, Ready?"

"Well, Mr. Seagrave, if I must speak, I confess to you that there isnot a harder heart among them than that of Mr. Mackintosh, and it'suseless speaking to him or any one of them; and you must not be toosevere upon them neither: the boat is small, and could not hold morepeople with the provisions which they take with them - that is thefact. If they were to take you and your family into the boat, it mightbe the cause of all perishing together; if I thought otherwise I wouldtry what I could do to persuade them, but it is useless."

"What must be done, then, Ready?"

"We must put our trust in a merciful God, Mr. Seagrave, who willdispose of us as he thinks fit."

"We must? What! do not you go with them?"

"No, Mr. Seagrave. I have been thinking about it this last hour, and Ihave made up my mind to remain with you. They intend to take poorCaptain Osborn with them, and give him a chance, and have offered totake me; but I shall stay here."

"To perish?" replied Mr. Seagrave, with surprise.

"As God pleases, Mr. Seagrave I am an old man, and it is of littleconsequence. I care little whether I am taken away a year or twosooner, but I do not like to see blossoms cut off in early spring: Imay be of use if I remain, for I've an old head upon my shoulders, andI could not leave you all to perish when you might be saved if you onlyknew how to act. But here the seamen come - the boat is all ready, andthey will now take poor Captain Osborn with them."

The sailors came aft, and lifted up the still insensible captain. Asthey were going away one of them said, "Come, Ready, there's no time tolose."

"Never mind me, Williams; I shall stick to the ship," replied Ready. "Iwish you success with all my heart; and, Mr. Mackintosh, I have but onepromise to exact from you, and I hope you will not refuse me: which is,that if you are saved, you will not forget those you leave here onboard, and take measures for their being searched for among theislands."

"Nonsense, Ready! come into the boat," replied the first mate.

"I shall stay here, Mr. Mackintosh; and I only beg that you willpromise me what I ask. Acquaint Mr. Seagrave's friends with what hashappened, and where it is most likely we may be found, if it please Godto save us. Do you promise me that?"

"Yes, I do, if you are determined to stay; but," continued he, going upto Ready, and whispering to him, "it is madness:- come away, man!"

"Good-bye, Mr. Mackintosh," replied Ready, extending his hand. "Youwill keep your promise?"

After much further expostulation on the part of Mackintosh and theseamen, to which Ready gave a deaf ear, the boat was pushed off, andthey made sail to the north-east.

Chapter VII

For some time after the boat had shoved off from the ship, old Readyremained with his arms folded, watching it in silence. Mr. Seagravestood by him; his heart was too full for utterance, for he imaginedthat as the boat increased her distance from the vessel, so did everyray of hope depart, and that his wife and children, himself, and theold man who was by his side were doomed to perish. His countenance wasthat of a man in utter despair. At last old Ready spoke.

"They think that they will be saved and that we must perish, Mr.Seagrave; they forget that there is a Power above, who will himselfdecide that point - a power compared to which the efforts of weak manare as nought."

"True," replied Mr. Seagrave, in a low voice; "but still what chance wecan have on a sinking ship, with so many helpless creatures around us,I confess I cannot imagine."

"We must do our best, and submit to His will," replied Ready, who thenwent aft, and shifted the helm, so as to put the ship again before thewind.

As the old man had foretold to the seamen before they quitted thevessel, the gale was now over, and the sea had gone down considerably.The ship, however, dragged but slowly through the water, and after ashort time Ready lashed the wheel, and went forward. On his return tothe quarter-deck, he found Mr. Seagrave had thrown himself down(apparently in a state of despair) upon the sail on which CaptainOsborn had been laid after his accident.

"Mr. Seagrave, do not give way," said Ready; "if I thought oursituation hopeless, I would candidly say so; but there always is hope,even at the very worst, - and there always ought to be trust in thatGod without whose knowledge not a sparrow falls to the ground. But, Mr.Seagrave, I shall speak as a seaman, and tell you what ourprobabilities are. The ship is half-full of water, from her seamshaving opened by the straining in the gale, and the heavy blows whichshe received; but, now that the gale has abated, she has recoveredherself very much. I have sounded the well, and find that she has notmade many inches within the last two hours, and probably, as she closesher seams, will make less. If, therefore, it pleases God that the fineweather should continue, there is no fear of the vessel sinking underus for some time; and as we are now amongst the islands, it is notimpossible, nay, it is very probable, that we may be able to run herashore, and thins save our hives. I thought of all this when I refusedto go in the boat, and I thought also, Mr. Seagrave, that if you wereto have been deserted by me as well as by all the rest, you would havebeen unable yourself to take advantage of any chances which might turnup in your favour, and therefore I have remained, hoping, under God'sprovidence, to be the means of assisting you and your family in thissore position. I think now it would be better that you should go downinto the cabin, and with a cheerful face encourage poor Mrs. Seagravewith the change in the weather, and the hopes of arriving in some placeof safety. If she does not know that the men have quitted the ship, donot tell her; say that the steward is with the other men, which will betrue enough, and, if possible, leave her in the dark as to what hastaken place. Master William can be trusted, and if you will send himhere to me, I will talk to him."

"I hardly know what to think, Ready, or how sufficiently to thank youfor your self-devotion, if I may so term it, in this exigency. Thatyour advice is excellent and that I shall follow it, you may beassured; and, should we be saved from the death which at present staresus in the face, my gratitude—"

"Do not speak of that, sir; I am an old man with few wants, and whoselife is of little use now. All I wish to feel is, that I am trying todo my duty in that situation into which it has pleased God to call me.What can this world offer to one who has roughed it all his life, andwho has neither kith nor kin that he knows of to care about his death?"

Mr. Seagrave pressed the hand of Ready, and went down without makingany reply. He found that his wife had been asleep for the last hour,and was not yet awake. The children were also quiet in their beds. Junoand William were the only two who were sitting up.

William made a sign to his father that his mother was asleep, and thensaid in a whisper, "I did not like to leave the cabin while you were ondeck, hut the steward has not been here these two hours: he went tomilk the goat for baby and has not returned. We have had no breakfast,none of us."

"William, go on deck," replied his father; "Ready wishes to speak toyou."

William went on deck to Ready, who explained to him the position inwhich they were placed; he pointed out to him the necessity of hisdoing all he could to assist his father and him, and not to alarm hismother in her precarious state of health. William, who, as it may beexpected, looked very grave, did, however, immediately enter intoReady's views, and proceeded to do his best. "The steward," said he,"has left with the other men, and when my mother wakes she will ask whythe children have had no breakfast. What can I do?"

"I think you can milk one of the goats if I show you how, while I goand get the other things ready; I can leave the deck, for you see theship steers herself very nicely; - and, William, I have sounded thewell just before you came up, and I don't think she makes much water;and," continued he, looking round him, and up above, "we shall havefine weather, and a smooth sea before night."

By the united exertions of Ready and William the breakfast was preparedwhile Mrs. Seagrave still continued in a sound sleep. The motion of theship was now very little: she only rolled very slowly from one side tothe other; the sea and wind had gone down, and the sun shone brightlyover their heads; the boat had been out of sight some time, and theship did not go through the water faster than three miles an hour, forshe had no other sail upon her than the main-topgallant sail hoisted upon the stump of the foremast. Ready, who had been some time down in thecabin, proposed to Mr. Seagrave that Juno and all the children shouldgo on deck. "They cannot be expected to be quiet, sir; and, now thatMadam is in such a sweet sleep, it would be a pity to wake her. Afterso much fatigue she may sheep for hours, and the longer the better, foryou know that (in a short time, I trust) she will have to exertherself." Mr. Seagrave agreed to the good sense of this proposal, andwent on deck with Juno and the children, leaving William in the cabinto watch his mother. Poor Juno was very much astonished when she cameup the ladder and perceived the condition of the vessel, and theabsence of the men; but Mr. Seagrave told her what had happened, andcautioned her against saying a word to Mrs. Seagrave. Juno promisedthat she would not; but the poor girl perceived the danger of theirposition, and, as she pressed little Albert to her bosom, a tear or tworolled down her cheeks. Even Tommy and Caroline could not help askingwhere the masts and sails were, and what had become of Captain Osborn.

"Look there, sir," said Ready, pointing out some floating sea-weed to
Mr. Seagrave.

"I perceive it," said Mr. Seagrave; "but what then?"

"That by itself would not be quite proof," replied Ready, "but wesailors have other signs and tokens. Do you see those birds hoveringover the waves?"

"I do."

"Well, sir, those birds never go far from land, that's all: and now,sir, I'll go down for my quadrant; for, although I cannot tell thelongitude just now, at all events I can find out the latitude we arein, and then by looking at the chart shall be able to give some kind ofguess whereabout we are, if we see land soon.

"It is nearly noon now," observed Ready, reading off his quadrant, "thesun rises very slowly. What a happy thing a child is! Look, sir, atthose little creatures playing about, and as merry now, and as unawareof danger, as if they were at home in their parlour. I often think,sir, it is a great blessing for a child to be called away early; andthat it is selfish in parents to repine."

"Perhaps it is," replied Mr. Seagrave, looking mournfully at hischildren.

"It's twelve o'clock, sir. I'll just go down and work the latitude, andthen I'll bring up the chart."

Mr. Seagrave remained on deck. He was soon in deep and solemn thought;nor was it to be wondered at - the ship a wreck and deserted - leftalone on the wide water with his wife and helpless family, with but oneto assist him: had that one deserted as well as the rest, what wouldhave been his position then? Utter helplessness! And now what had theyto expect? Their greatest hopes were to gain some island, and, if theysucceeded, perhaps a desert island, perhaps an island inhabited bysavages - to be murdered, or to perish miserably of hunger and thirst.It was not until some time after these reflections had passed throughhis mind, that Mr. Seagrave could recall himself to a sense ofthankfulness to the Almighty for having hitherto preserved them, orcould say with humility, "O Lord! thy will, not mine, be done." But,having once succeeded in repressing his murmurs, he then felt that hehad courage and faith to undergo every trial which might be imposedupon him.

"Here is the chart, sir," said Ready, "and I have drawn a pencil linethrough our latitude: you perceive that it passes through this clusterof islands; and I think we must be among them, or very near. Now I mustput something on for dinner, and then look sharp out for the land. Willyou take a look round, Mr. Seagrave, especially a-head and on thebows?"

Ready went down to see what he could procure for dinner, as the seamen,when they left the ship, had collected almost all which came first tohand. He soon procured a piece of salt beef and some potatoes, which heput into the saucepan, and then returned on deck.

Mr. Seagrave was forward, looking over the bows, and Ready went thereto him.

"Ready, I think I see something, but I can hardly tell what it is: itappears to be in the air, and yet it is not clouds. Look there, where Ipoint my finger."

"You're right, sir," replied Ready, "there is something; it is not theland which you see, but it is the trees upon the land which arerefracted, as they call it, so as to appear, as you say, as if theywere in the air. That is an island, sir, depend upon it; but I will godown and get my glass.

"It is the land, Mr. Seagrave," said Ready, after examining it with hisglass - "yes, it is so," continued he, musing; "I wish that we had seenit earlier; and yet we must be thankful."

"Why so, Ready?"

"Only, sir, as the ship forges so slowly through the water, I fear thatwe shall not reach it before dark, and I should have wished to have haddaylight to have laid her nicely on it."

"There is very little wind now."

"Well, let us hope that there will be more," replied Ready; "if not, wemust do our best. But I must now go to the helm, for we must steerright for the island; it would not do to pass it, for, Mr. Seagrave,although the ship does not leak so much as she did, yet I must now tellyou that I do not think that she could be kept more than twenty-fourhours above water. I thought otherwise this morning when I sounded thewell; but when I went down in the hold for the beef, I perceived thatwe were in more danger than I had any idea of; however, there is theland, and every chance of escape; so let us thank the Lord for all hismercies."

"Amen!" replied Mr. Seagrave.

Ready went to the helm and steered a course for the land, which was notso far distant as he had imagined, for the island was very low: bydegrees the wind freshened up, and they went faster through the water;and now, the trees, which had appeared as if in the air, joined on tothe land, and they could make out that it was a low coral islandcovered with groves of cocoa-nuts. Occasionally Ready gave the helm upto Mr. Seagrave, and went forward to examine. When they were withinthree or four miles of it, Ready came back from the forecastle andsaid, "I think I see my way pretty clear, sir: you see we are to thewindward of the island, and there is always deep water to the windwardof these sort of isles, and reefs and shoals to leeward; we must,therefore, find some little cleft in the coral rock to dock her in, asit were, or she may fall back into deep water after she has taken theground, for sometimes these islands run up like a wall, with forty orfifty fathom of water close to the weather-sides of them; but I see aspot where I think she may be put on shore with safety. You see thosethree cocoa-nut trees close together on the beach? Now, sir, I cannotwell see them as I steer, so do you go forward, and if I am to steermore to the right, put out your right hand, and if to the left, thesame with your left; and when the ship's head is as it ought to be,then drop the hand which you have raised."

"I understand, Ready," replied Mr. Seagrave; who then went forward anddirected the steering of the vessel as they neared the island. Whenthey were within half a mile of it, the colour of the water changed,very much to the satisfaction of Ready, who knew that the weather-sideof the island would not be so steep as was usually the case: still itwas an agitating moment as they ran on to beach. They were now within acable's length, and still the ship did not ground; a little nearer, andthere was a grating at her bottom - it was the breaking off of thecoral-trees which grew below like forests under water - again shegrated, and more harshly, then struck, and then again; at last shestruck violently, as the swell lifted her further on, and then remainedfast amid quiet. Ready let go the helm to ascertain the position of theship. He looked over the stern and around the ship, and found that shewas firmly fixed, fore and aft, upon a bed of coral rocks.

Chapter VIII

"All's well so far, sir," said Ready to Mr. Seagrave; "and now let usreturn thanks to Heaven."

As they rose to their feet again, after giving thanks to the Almighty,William came up and said, "Father, my mother was awakened by the noiseunder the ship's bottom, and is frightened - will you go down to her?"

"What is the matter, my dear, - and where have you all been?" exclaimedMrs. Seagrave, when her husband went down below. "I have been sofrightened - I was in a sound sleep, and I was awakened with such adreadful noise."

"Be composed, my dear," replied Mr. Seagrave; "we have been in greatdanger, and are now, I trust, in safety. Tell me, are you not betterfor your long sleep?"

"Yes, much better - much stronger; but do tell me what has happened."

"Much took place, dearest, before you went to sleep, which wasconcealed from you; but now, as I expect we shall all go on shore in ashort time—"

"Go on shore, my dear?"

"Yes, on shore. Now be calm, and hear what has happened, and how muchwe have reason to be grateful to Heaven."

Mr. Seagrave then entered into a detail of all that had passed. Mrs.Seagrave heard him without reply; and when he had finished, she threwherself in his arms and wept bitterly. Mr. Seagrave remained with hiswife, using all his efforts to console her, until Juno reappeared withthe children, for it was now getting late; then he returned on deck.

"Well, sir," said Ready, when Mr. Seagrave went up to him, "I have beenlooking well about me, and I think that we have great reason to bethankful. The ship is fast enough, and will not move until some violentgales come on and break her up; but of that there is no fear atpresent: the little wind that there is, is going down, and we shallhave a calm before morning."

"I grant that there is no immediate danger, Ready; but how are we toget on shore? - and, when on shore, how are we to exist?"

"I have thought of that too, sir, and I must have your assistance, andeven that of Master William, to get the little boat on board to repairher: her bottom is stove in, it is true, but I am carpenter enough forthat, and with some well-tarred canvas I can make her sufficientlywater-tight to land us all in safety. We must set to at daylight."

"And when we get on shore?"

"Why, Mr. Seagrave, where there are cocoa-nut trees in such plenty asthere are on that island, there is no fear of starvation, even if wehad not the ship's provisions. I expect a little difficulty with regardto water, for the island is low and small; but we cannot expect to findeverything exactly as we wish."

"I am thankful to the Almighty for our preservation, Ready; but stillthere are feelings which I cannot get over. Here we are cast away upona desolate island, which perhaps no ship may ever come near, so thatthere is little chance of our being taken off. It is a melancholy andcruel fate, Ready, and that you must acknowledge."

"Mr. Seagrave, as an old man compared to you, I may venture to say thatyou are ungrateful to Heaven to give way to these repinings. What issaid in the book of Job? `Shall we receive good of the Lord, and shallwe not receive evil?' Besides, who knows whether good may not proceedfrom what appears evil? I beg your pardon, Mr. Seagrave, I hope I havenot offended you; but, indeed, sir, I felt that it was my duty to speakas I have done."

"You have reproved me very just]y, Ready; and I thank you for it,"replied Mr. Seagrave; "I will repine no more, but make the best of it."

"And trust in God, sir, who, if he thinks fit, will restore you oncemore to your friends, and increase tenfold your flocks and herds."

"That quotation becomes very apt, Ready," replied Mr. Seagrave,smiling, "considering that all my prospects are in flocks and herdsupon my land in New South Wales. I must put myself under your orders;for, in our present position, you are my superior - knowledge is power.Can we do anything to-night?"

"I can do a little, Mr. Seagrave; but you cannot assist me tilltomorrow morning, except indeed to help me to drag these two spars aft;and then I can rig a pair of sheers, and have them all ready forhoisting up to-morrow morning to get the boat in. You see, with solittle strength on board, and no masts, we shall be obliged tocontrive."

Mr. Seagrave assisted Ready in getting the two spars aft, and laid onthe spot which was required. "There now, Mr. Seagrave, you may go downbelow. William had better let loose the two dogs, and give them alittle victuals, for we have quite forgot them, poor things. I shallkeep watch to-night, for I have plenty to do, and plenty to think of;so, good-night, sir."

Ready remained on deck, lashing the heads of the spars, and fixing histackles ready for the morrow. When all was done, he sat down upon oneof the hen-coops aft, and remained in deep thought. At last, tired withwatching and exertion, the old man fell asleep. He was awakened atdaylight by the dogs, who had been set at liberty, and who, afterwalking about the ship and finding nobody, had then gone to sleep atthe cabin door. At daybreak they had roused up, and going on deck hadfound old Ready asleep on the hen-coop, and were licking his face intheir joy at having discovered him. "Ay," said the old man, as he gotoff the hen-coop, "you'll all three be useful, if I mistake not, by andby. Down, Vixen, down - poor creature, you've lost a good master, I'mafraid."

"Stop - now let me see," said Ready, talking to himself; "first - butI'll get the log board and a bit of chalk, and write them down, for mymemory is not quite so good as it was."

Ready placed the logboard on the hen-coop, and then wrote on it withthe chalk:— "Three dogs, two goats, and Billy the kid (I think there'sfive pigs); fowls (quite enough); three or four pigeons (I'm sure); thecow (she has lain down and won't get up again, I'm afraid, so we mustkill her); and there's the merino ram and sheep belonging to Mr.Seagrave - plenty of live stock. Now, what's the first things we mustget on shore after we are all landed - a spar and topgallant sail for atent, a coil or two of rope, a mattress or two for Madam and thechildren, two axes, hammer and nails, something to eat - yes, andsomething to cut it with. There, that will do for the present," saidold Ready, getting up. "Now, I'll just light the fire, get the wateron, and, while I think of it, boil two or three pieces of beef and porkto go on shore with them; and then I'll call up Mr. Seagrave, for Ireckon it will be a hard day's work."

Chapter IX

As soon as Ready had executed his intentions, and had fed the animals,he went to the cabin and called Mr. Seagrave and William. With theirassistance the sheers were raised, and secured in their place; the boatwas then hooked on, but, as one person was required to bear it clear ofthe davits and taffrail, they could not hoist it in.

"Master William, will you run down to Juno, and tell her to come ondeck to assist us - we must all work now?"

William soon returned with Juno, who was a strong girl; and, with herassistance, they succeeded in getting the boat in.

The boat was turned over, and Ready commenced his work; while Mr.Seagrave, at his request, put the pitch-pot on the galley fire, allready for pitching the canvas when it was nailed on. It was not tilldinner-time that Ready, who had worked hard, could patch up the boat;he then payed the canvas and the seams which he had caulked with pitchboth inside and out.

"I think we shall do now, sir," said Ready; "we'll drag her to thegangway and launch her. It's fortunate for us that they did clear awaythe gunnel, as we shall have no trouble."

A rope was made fast to the boat, to hold her to the ship: she was thenlaunched over the gunnel by the united exertions of Mr. Seagrave andReady, and to their great satisfaction she appeared to leak verylittle.

"Now, sir," said Ready, "what shall we do first - take some things onshore, or some of the children?"

"What do you say, Ready?"

"I think as the water is as smooth as glass, and we can land anywhere,you and I had better go first to reconnoitre, - it is not two hundredyards to the beach, and we shall lose but little time."

"Very well, Ready, I will first run down and tell my wife."

"And, in the meanwhile, I'll put the sail into the boat, and one or twoother things."

Ready put the sail in, an axe, a musket, and some cord; then they bothgot into the boat and pulled on shore.

When they landed, they found that they could see nothing of theinterior of the island, the cocoa-nut groves were so thick; but totheir right they perceived, at about a quarter of a mile off, a smallsandy cove, with brushwood growing in front of the cocoa-nut trees.

"That," said Ready, pointing to it, "must be our location. Let us getinto the boat again and pull to it."

In a few minutes they arrived at the cove; the water was shallow, andas clear as crystal. Beneath the boat's bottom they could see beautifulshells, and the fish darting about in every direction.

The sand extended about forty yards from the water, and then commencedthe brushwood, which ran back about forty yards further, intermingledwith single cocoa-nut trees, until it joined the cocoa-nut grove. Theypulled the boat in and landed.

"What a lovely spot this is!" exclaimed Mr. Seagrave; "and perhapsmortal man has never yet visited it till now: those cocoa-nuts haveborne their fruit year after year, have died, and others have sprung upin their stead; and here has this spot remained, perhaps for centuries,all ready for man to live in, and to enjoy whenever he should come toit."

"Providence is bountiful, Mr. Seagrave," replied Ready, "and suppliesour wants when we least expect it. If you please we will walk a littleway into the wood: take the gun as a precaution, sir; not that thereappears to be much occasion for it - there is seldom anything wild onthese small islands, except a pig or two has been put on shore byconsiderate Christians."

"Well, now that we are in the grove, Ready, what do you think?"

"I was looking for a place to fix a tent up for the present, sir, and Ithink that on that little rise would be a very good place till we canlook about us and do better; but we have no time now, sir, for we haveplenty of trips to make before nightfall. If you please, we'll haul thesail and other articles on to the beach, and then return on board."

As they were pulling the boat back, Ready said, "I've been thinkingabout what is best, Mr. Seagrave. Would Mrs. Seagrave mind your leavingher? - if not, I should say we should have Juno and William on shorefirst, as they can be of use."

"I do not think that she will mind being left on board with William andthe children, provided that I return for her when she is to come onshore herself with the baby."

"Well then, let William remain on board, if you please, sir. I'll landyou and Juno, Tommy, and the dogs, this time, for they will be aprotection in case of accidents. You and Juno can be doing somethingwhile I return by myself for the other articles we shall require."

As soon as they arrived on board, Mr. Seagrave went down to cheer hiswife with the account of what they had seen. While he was down below,Ready had cast off the lashings of the two spars which had formed thesheers, and dragging them forward, had launched them over the gunnel,with lines fast to them, ready for towing on shore. In a few minutesJuno and Tommy made their appearance on deck; Ready put some tools intothe boat, and a couple of shovels, which he brought up when he went forthe dogs, and once more they landed at the sandy cove. Tommy staredabout him a great deal, but did not speak, until he saw the shellslying on the beach, when he screamed with delight, and began to pickthem up as fast as he could; the dogs barked and galloped about,overjoyed at being once more on shore; and Juno smiled as she lookedaround her, saying to Ready, "What a nice place!"

"Now, Mr. Seagrave, I'll remain on shore with you a little. First,we'll load the musket in case of need, and then you can put it out ofthe way of Tommy, who fingers everything, I observe. We will take upthe sail between us. Juno, you can carry the tools; and then we cancome back again for the spars, and the rope, and the other things.Come, Tommy, you can carry a shovel at all events, and that will makeyou of some use."

Having taken all these things to the little knoll which Ready hadpointed out before, they returned for the spars; and in two trips theyhad carried everything there, Tommy with the second shovel on hisshoulder, and very proud to be employed.

"Here are two trees which will answer our purpose pretty well," saidReady, "as they are far enough apart: we must lash the spars up tothem, and then throw the sail over, and bring it down to the ground atboth ends; that will be a beginning, at all events; and I will bringsome more canvas on shore, to set up the other tent between these othertrees, and also to shut up the two ends of both of them; then we shallhave a shelter for Madam, and Juno, and the younger children, andanother for William, Tommy, and ourselves. Now, sir, I'll just help youto lash the spars, and then I'll leave you to finish while I go onboard again."

"But how can we reach so high, Ready?"

"Why, sir, we can manage that by first lashing a spar as high as we canconveniently reach, and then standing on that while we lash the otherin its proper place. I shall bring another spar on shore, that we maydo the same when we set up the other tent."

Having by this plan succeeded in lashing the spar high enough, andthrowing the sail over the spar, Ready and Mr. Seagrave spread it out,and found that it made a very good-sized tent.

"Now, sir, I'll return on board; in the meantime, if you can cut pegsfrom the brush wood to fasten the sail down to the ground, and thenwith the shovel cover the bottom of it with sand to keep it down, itwill be close enough when it is all finished."

"I shall do very well," replied Mr. Seagrave; "Juno can help me to pullthe canvas out tight when I am ready."

"Yes; and in the meantime, Juno, take a shovel, and level the inside ofthe tent nice and smooth, and throw out all those old cocoa-nut leaves,and look if you see any vermin lurking among them. Master Tommy, youmust not run away; and you must not touch the axes, they will cut youif you do. It may be as well to say, Mr. Seagrave, that should anythinghappen, and you require my assistance, you had better fire off the gun,and I will come on shore to you immediately."

Chapter X

When Ready returned on board, he first went down into the cabin toacquaint Mrs. Seagrave and William with what they had done. Mrs.Seagrave naturally felt anxious about her husband being on shore alone,and Ready informed her that they had agreed that if anything shouldoccur Mr. Seagrave would fire the musket. He then went down into thesail-room to get some canvas, a new topgallant sail which was there,and a palm and needles with twine. Scarcely had he got them out, and atthe foot of the ladder, when the report of the musket was heard, andMrs. Seagrave rushed out of the cabin in the greatest alarm; Readyseized another musket, jumped into the boat, and pulled on shore asfast as he could. On his arrival, quite out of breath, for as he pulledon shore he had his back towards it, and could see nothing, he foundMr. Seagrave and Juno busy with the tent, and Tommy sitting on theground crying very lustily. It appeared that, while Mr Seagrave andJuno were employed, Tommy had crept away to where the musket was placedup on end against a cocoa-nut tree, and, after pulling it about somelittle while, had touched the trigger. The musket went off; and, as themuzzle was pointed upwards, the charge had brought down two largecocoa-nuts. Mr. Seagrave, who was aware what an alarm this wouldproduce on board the vessel, had been scolding him soundly, and nowMaster Tommy was crying, to prove how very penitent he was.

"I had better return on board immediately, sir, and tell Mrs.
Seagrave," said Ready.

"Do, pray," replir. Seagrave.

Ready then returned to the ship, and explained matters, and thenrecommenced his labour.

Having put into the boat the sailmaker's bag, with palm and needles,two mattresses, and blankets from the captain's state room, thesaucepan with the beef and pork, and a spar which he towed astern,Ready found that he had as much as he could carry; but, as there wasnobody but himself in it, he came on shore very well. Having, with theassistance of Mr. Seagrave and Juno, got all the things up to theknoll, Ready lashed the spar up for the second tent, and then leavingthem to fix it up like the other, he returned again on board. He madetwo other trips to the ship, bringing with him more bedding, a bag ofship's biscuits, another of potatoes, plates, knives and forks, spoons,frying-pans and other cooking utensils, and a variety of otherarticles. He then showed Juno how to fill up the ends of the first tentwith the canvas and sails he had brought on shore, so as to inclose itall round; Juno took the needle and twine, and worked very well. Ready,satisfied that she would be able to get on without them, now said: "Mr.Seagrave, we have but two hours more daylight, and it is right thatMrs. Seagrave should come on shore now; so, if you please, we'll go offand fetch her and the children. I think we shall be able to do verywell for the first night; and if it pleases God to give us fineweather, we may do a great deal more to-morrow."

As soon as they arrived on board, Mr. Seagrave went down to his wife topropose her going on shore. She was much agitated, and very weak fromher illness, but she behaved courageously notwithstanding, and,supported by her husband, gained the deck, William following with thebaby, and his little sister Caroline carried by Ready. With somedifficulty they were all at last placed in the boat and shoved off; butMrs. Seagrave was so ill, that her husband was obliged to support herin his arms, and William took an oar. They landed very safely, andcarried Mrs. Seagrave up to the tent, and laid her down on one of themattresses. She asked for a little water.

"And I have forgotten to bring any with me: well, I am a stupid oldman; but I'll go on board directly," said Ready: "to think that Ishould be so busy in bringing other things on shore and forget thegreatest necessary in life! The fact is, I intended to look for it onthe island as soon as I could, as it would save a great deal oftrouble."

Ready returned on board as fast as he could, and brought on shore twokegs of fresh water, which he and William rolled up to the tent.

Juno had completely finished her task, and Mrs. Seagrave having dranksome water, declared that she was much better.

"I shall not return on board any more to-night," said Ready, "I feeltired - very tired indeed."

"You must be," replied Mr. Seagrave; "do not think of doing any more."

"And I haven't touched food this day, or even quenched my thirst,"replied Ready, sitting down.

"You are ill, are you not, Ready?" said William.

"A little faint, William; I'm not so young as I was. Could you give mea little water?"

"Stop, William, I will," said Mr. Seagrave, taking up a tin can whichhad been filled for his wife: "here, Ready, drink this."

"I shall be better soon, sir; I'll just lie down a little, and then
I'll have a biscuit and a little meat."

Poor old Ready was indeed quite tired out; but he ate something, andfelt much revived. Juno was very busy; she had given the children someof the salt meat and biscuit to eat. The baby, and Tommy, and Carolinehad been put to bed, and the second tent was nearly ready.

"It will do very well for to-night, Juno," said Mr. Seagrave; "we havedone work enough for this day."

"Yes, sir," replied Ready, "and I think we ought to thank God for hismercies to us before we go to sleep."

"You remind me of my duty, Ready; let us thank him for his goodness,and pray to him for his protection before we go to sleep."

Mr. Seagrave then offered up a prayer of thankfulness; and they allretired to rest.

Chapter XI

Mr. Seagrave was the first who awoke and rose from his bed on theensuing morning. He stepped out of the tent, and looked around him. Thesky was clear and brilliant. A light breeze ruffled o'er the surface ofthe water, and the tiny waves rippled one after another upon the whitesand of the cove. To the left of the cove the land rose, forming smallhills, behind which appeared the continuation of the cocoa-nut groves.To the right, a low ridge of coral rocks rose almost as a wall from thesea, and joined the herbage and brushwood at about a hundred paces,while the wreck of the Pacific, lying like some huge stranded monster,formed the prominent feature in the landscape. The sun was powerfulwhere its beams could penetrate; but where Mr. Seagrave stood, thecocoa-nuts waved their feathery leaves to the wind, and offered animpervious shade. A feeling of the extreme beauty of the scene, subduedby the melancholy created by the sight of the wrecked vessel, pervadedthe mind of Mr. Seagrave as he meditated over it.

"Yes," thought he, "if, tired with the world and its anxieties, I hadsought an abode of peace and beauty, it would have been on a spot likethis. How lovely is the scene! - what calm - what content - what asweet sadness does it create! How mercifully have we been preservedwhen all hope appeared to be gone; and how bountifully have we beenprovided for, now that we have been saved, - and yet I have dared torepine, when I ought to be full of gratitude! May God forgive me! Wife,children, all safe, nothing to regret but a few worldly goods and aseclusion from the world for a time - yes, but for how long a time -What! rebellious still! - for the time that it shall please God in hiswisdom to ordain." Mr. Seagrave turned back to his tent. William,Tommy, and old Ready still remained fast asleep. "Excellent old man!"thought Mr. Seagrave. "What a heart of oak is hid under that ruggedbark! - Had it not been for his devotion where might I and all thosedear helpless creatures have been now?"

The dogs, who had crept into the tent and laid themselves down upon themattresses by the side of William and Tommy, now fawned upon Mr.Seagrave. William woke up with their whining, and having received acaution from his father not to wake Ready, he dressed himself and cameout.

"Had I not better call Juno, father?" said William; "I think I can,without waking mamma, if she is asleep."

"Then do, if you can, my boy; and I will see what cooking utensils
Ready has brought on shore."

William soon returned to his father, stating that his mother was in asound sleep, and that Juno had got up without waking her or the twochildren.

"Well, we'll see if we cannot get some breakfast ready for them,
William. Those dry cocoa-nut leaves will make an excellent fire."

"But, father, how are we to light the fire? we have no tinder-box ormatches."

"No; but there are other ways, William, although, in most of them,tinder is necessary. The savages can produce fire by rubbing a softpiece of wood against a hard one. But we have gunpowder; and we havetwo ways of igniting gunpowder - one is by a flint and steel, and theother is by collecting the sun's rays into one focus by amagnifying-glass."

"But, father, when we have lighted the fire, what have we to cook? wehave no tea or coffee."

"No, I do not think we have," replied Mr. Seagrave.

"But we have potatoes, father."

"Yes, William, but don't you think it would be better if we made ourbreakfast off the cold beef and pork and ship's biscuit for once, andnot use the potatoes? we may want them all to plant, you know. But whyshould we not go on board of the ship ourselves? you can pull an oarpretty well, and we must all learn to work now, and not leaveeverything for poor old Ready to do. Come, William."

Mr. Seagrave then went down to the cove; the little boat was lying onthe beach, just lifted by the rippling waves; they pushed her off, andgot into her. "I know where the steward kept the tea and coffee,father," said William, as they pulled on board; "mamma would like somefor breakfast, I'm sure, and I'll milk the goats for baby."

Although they were neither of them very handy at the oar, they weresoon alongside of the ship; and, having made the boat fast, theyclimbed on board.

William first went down to the cabin for the tea and coffee, and thenleft his father to collect other things while he went to milk thegoats, which he did in a tin pan. He then poured the milk into abottle, which he had washed out, that it might not be spilt, and wentback to his father.

"I have filled these two baskets full of a great many things, William,which will be very acceptable to your mamma. What else shall we take?"

"Let us take the telescope, at all events, father; and let us take awhole quantity of clothes - they will please mamma: the clean ones areall in the drawers - we can bring them up in a sheet; and then, father,let us bring some of the books on shore; and I'm sure mamma will longfor her Bible and prayer-book; - here they are."

"You are a good boy, William," replied Mr. Seagrave. "I will now takethose things up to the boat, and then return for the rest."

In a short time everything was put into the boat, and they pulled onshore again. They found Juno, who had been washing herself, waiting forthem at the cove, to assist to take up the things.

"Well, Juno, how do you find yourself this morning?"

"Quite well, massa," said Juno: and then pointing to the clear water,she said, "Plenty fish here."

"Yes, if we only had lines," replied Mr. Seagrave. "I think Ready hasboth hooks and lines somewhere. Come, Juno, take up this bundle oflinen to your tent: we can manage all the rest."

When they arrived at the tent they found that every one was awakeexcept Ready, who appeared still to sleep very sound. Mrs. Seagrave hadpassed a very good night, and felt herself much refreshed. William madesome touch-paper, which he lighted with one of the glasses from thetelescope, and they soon had a good fire. Mr. Seagrave went to thebeach, and procured three large stones to rest the saucepan on; and inhalf an hour the water was boiling and the tea made.

Chapter XII

Juno had taken the children down to the cove, and, walking out into thewater up to her knees, had dipped them in all over, as the shortest wayof washing them, and had then dressed them and left them with theirmother, while she assisted William to get the cups and saucers andplates for breakfast. Everything was laid out nice and tidy between thetwo tents, and then William proposed that he should awaken Ready.

"Yes, my boy, you may as well now - he will want his breakfast."

William went and pushed Ready on the shoulder. "Ready, have you hadsleep enough?" said William, as the old man sat up.

"Yes, William. I have had a good nap, I expect; and now I will get up,and see what I can get for breakfast for you all."

"Do," replied William, laughing.

Ready was soon dressed, for he had only taken off his jacket when helay down. He put it on, and came out of the tent; when, to hisastonishment, he found the whole party (Mrs. Seagrave having come outwith the children) standing round the breakfast, which was spread onthe ground.

"Good-morning, Ready!" said Mrs. Seagrave, extending her hand. Mr.
Seagrave also shook hands with him.

"You have had a good long sleep, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave, "and Iwould not waken you after your fatigue of yesterday."

"I thank you, sir; and I am glad to see that Madam is so well: and I amnot sorry to see that you can do so well without me," continued Ready,smiling.

"Indeed, but we cannot, I'm afraid," replied Mrs. Seagrave; "had it notbeen for you and your kindness, where should we have been now?"

"We can get a breakfast ready without you," said Mr. Seagrave; "butwithout you, I think we never should have required another breakfast bythis time. But we will tell Ready all we have done while we eat ourbreakfast: now, my dear, if you please." Mrs. Seagrave then read achapter from the Bible, and afterwards they all knelt down while Mr.Seagrave offered up a prayer.

While they were at breakfast, William told Ready how they had gone onboard, and what they had brought on shore, and he also mentioned howJuno had dipped all the children in the sea.

"But Juno must not do that again," replied Ready, "until I have madeall safe; you know that there are plenty of sharks about these islands,and it is very dangerous to go into the water."

"Oh, what an escape they have had!" cried Mrs. Seagrave, shuddering.

"It's very true," continued Ready; "but they don't keep so much to thewindward of the islands where we are at present; but still that smoothcove is a very likely place for them to come into; so it's just as wellnot to go in again, Juno, until I have time to make a place for you tobathe in in safety. As soon as we can get as much as we want from theship, we must decide whether we shall stay here or not."

"Stay here or not, Ready! - what do you mean?"

"Why, we have not yet found any water, and that is the first necessaryof life - if there is no water on this side of the island, we mustpitch our tents somewhere else."

"That's very true," replied Mr. Seagrave; "I wish we could find time toexplore a little."

"So we can, sir; but we must not lose this fine weather to get a fewthings from the ship. We had better go now. You and William can remainon board to collect the things, and I will land them on the beach forJuno to bring up."

The whole day was spent in landing every variety of article which theythought could be useful. All the small sails, cordage, twine, canvas,small casks, saws, chisels, and large nails. and elm and oak plank,were brought on shore before dinner. After they had taken a heartydinner, the cabin tables and chairs, all their clothes, some boxes ofcandles, two bags of coffee, two of rice, two more of biscuits, severalpieces of beef and pork and bags of flour, some more water, thegrindstone, and Mrs. Seagrave's medicine-chest were landed. When Readycame off again, he said, "Our poor boat is getting very leaky, and willnot take much more on shore without being repaired; and Juno has notbeen able to get half the things up - they are too heavy for oneperson. I think we shall do pretty well now, Mr. Seagrave; and we hadbetter, before it is dark, get all the animals on shore. I don't muchlike to trust them to swim on shore, but they are awkward things in aboat. We'll try a pig, at all events; and while I get one up, do youand William tie the legs of the fowls, and put them into the boat; asfor the cow, she cannot be brought on shore, she is still lying down,and, I expect, won't get up again any more; however, I have given herplenty of hay, and if she don't rise, why I will kill her, and we cansalt her down."

Ready went below, and the squealing of the pig was soon heard; he cameon deck with it hanging over his back by the hind legs, and threw itinto the sea over the gunnel: the pig floundered at first; but after afew seconds, turned its head away from the ship and swam for the shore.

"He goes ashore straight enough," said Ready, who, with Mr. Seagraveand William, was watching the animal; but a minute afterwards, Readyexclaimed:

"I thought as much - we've lost him!"

"How?" replied Mr. Seagrave.

"D'ye see that black thing above water pushing so fast to the animal? -that's the back fin of a shark, and he will have the poor thing -there, he's got him!" said Ready, as the pig disappeared under thewater with a heavy splash. "Well, he's gone; better the pig than yourlittle children, Mr. Seagrave."

"Yes, indeed, God be praised! - that monster might have been close tothem at the time that Juno took them into the water."

"He was not far off; I reckon," replied Ready. "We'll go down now andtie the legs of the other four pigs, and bring them up; with what'salready in the boat they will be a good load."

As soon as the pigs were in the boat, Ready sculled it on shore, whileMr. Seagrave and William brought up the goats and sheep ready for thenext trip. Ready soon returned. "Now this will be our last trip forto-day, and, if I am any judge of the weather, our last trip for somedays; it is banking up very thick in the offing. This trip we'll beable to put into the boat a bag of corn for the creatures, in case werequire it, and then we may say good-bye to the ship for a day or twoat least."

They then all got into the boat, which was very deeply laden, for thecorn was heavy, but they got safe on shore, although they leaked verymuch. Having landed the goats and sheep, William led them up to thetent, where they remained very quietly; the pigs had run away, and sohad the fowls.

"That's what I call a good day's work, Mr. Seagrave," said Ready; "thelittle boat has done its duty well; but we must not venture in heragain until I have put her into a little better condition."

They were not at all sorry, after their hard day's work, to find thatJuno had prepared coffee for them; and while they were drinking it,they narrated to Mrs. Seagrave the tragically death of the poor pig bythe shark. Poor Juno appeared quite frightened at the danger which thechildren had been in, even now that it was all over.

"We shall have plenty to do here to-morrow," observed Mr. Seagrave, "ingetting things into their places."

"We shall have plenty to do for some time, I expect," replied Ready."In two months, or thereabouts, we shall have the rainy season come on,and we must be under cover before that time, if we possibly can."

"What's the first thing we must do, Ready?" inquired Mr. Seagrave.

"To-morrow we had better fix up another tent or two, to stow away allthe articles we have brought on shore: that will be one good day'swork; we shall then know where to lay our hands upon everything, andsee what we want."

"That's very true; and what shall we do then?"

"Why then, sir, I think we must make a little expedition to explore theisland, and find out where we must build our house."

"Can we build a house?" said William.

"Oh, yes, sir, and with more ease than you would think. There's no treeso valuable as the cocoa-nut tree; and the wood is so light that we caneasily move it about."

"Why, what are the great merits of the cocoa-nut tree?" said Mrs.
Seagrave.

"I'll tell you, madam: in the first place, you have the wood to buildthe house with; then you have the bark with which you can make ropesand lines, and fishing-nets if you please; then you have the leaves forthatching your house; then you have the fruit, which, as a nut, is goodto eat, and very useful in cooking; and in the young nut is the milk,which is also very wholesome; then you have the oil to burn, and theshell to make cups of, if you haven't any, and then you can draw toddyfrom the tree, which is very pleasant to drink when fresh, but willmake you tipsy if it is kept too long. There is no tree which yields somany useful things to man, for it supplies him with almost everything."

"At all events, we've plenty of them," said William.

"Yes, William, there's no want of them; and I am glad of it, for hadthere been but few, I should not have liked to destroy them. Peoplemight be wrecked here, as well as ourselves, and without the goodfortune that we have had in getting so many necessaries on shore; andthey might be obliged to depend wholly upon the cocoa-nut trees fortheir support."

Chapter XIII

When breakfast was over the next morning, Ready observed, "Now, Mr.Seagrave, we must hold a council of war, and decide upon an exploringparty for to-morrow; and, when we have settled that, we will find someuseful way of employing ourselves for the rest of the day. The firstquestion is, of whom is the party to consist? - and upon that I wish tohear your opinion."

"Why, Ready," replied Mr. Seagrave, "it appears to me that you and Ishould go."

"Surely not both of you, my dear," interrupted Mrs. Seagrave. "You cando without my husband, can you not, Ready?"

"I certainly should have liked to have Mr. Seagrave to advise with,ma'am," replied Ready; "but still I have thought upon it, and do notthink that William would be quite sufficient protection for you; or, atall events, you would not feel that he was, which is much the samething; and so, if Mr. Seagrave has no objection, it would perhaps bebetter that he remained with you."

"Would you go alone, then, Ready?" said Mr. Seagrave.

"No, sir, I do not think that would be right either, - some accidentmight happen; there is no saying what might happen, although there isevery appearance of safety. I should like, therefore, to have some onewith me; the question is, whether it be William or Juno?"

"Take me," said Tommy.

"Take you, Tommy!" said Ready, laughing; "then I must take Juno to takecare of you. No; I think they cannot spare you. Your mamma will wantyou when we are gone; you are so useful in gathering wood for the fire,and taking care of your little sister and brother, that your mothercannot part with you; so I must have either Juno or William."

"And which would you prefer, Ready?" said Mrs. Seagrave.

"William, certainly, ma'am, if you will let him go with me, as youcould ill spare the girl."

"Indeed, I do not like it; I would rather lose Juno for a time,"replied Mrs. Seagrave.

"My dear wife," said Mr. Seagrave, "recollect how Providence haspreserved us in such awful dangers - how we are landed in safety. Andnow, will you not put trust in that Providence, when the dangers are,as I trust, only imaginary?"

"I was wrong, my dear husband; but sickness and suffering have made me,I fear, not only nervous and frightened, but selfish: I must and willshake it off. Hitherto I have only been a clog and an incumbrance toyou; but I trust I shall soon behave better, and make myself useful. Ifyou think, then, that it would be better that you should go instead ofWilliam, I am quite content. Go, then, with Ready, and may Heavenprotect you both!"

"No, ma'am," replied Ready, "William will do just as well. Indeed, Iwould go by myself with pleasure; but we know not what the day maybring forth. I might be taken ill - I might hurt myself - I am an oldman, you know; and then I was thinking that if any accident was tohappen to me, you might miss me - that's all."

"Pardon me," replied Mrs Seagrave; "a mother is foolish at times."

"Over-anxious, ma'am, perhaps, but not foolish," replied Ready.

"Well, then, William shall go with you, Ready; - that point's settled,"observed Mr. Seagrave: "what is the next?"

"The next is to prepare for our journey. We must take some provisionsand water with us, a gun and some ammunition, a large axe for me, andone of the hatchets for William; and, if you please, Romulus and Remushad better come with us. Juno, put a piece of beef and a piece of porkinto the pot. William, will you fill four quart bottles with water,while I sew up a knapsack out of canvas for each of us?"

"And what shall I do, Ready?" said Mr. Seagrave.

"Why, sir, if you will sharpen the axe and the hatchet on thegrindstone, it would be of great service, and Tommy can turn it, he isso fond of work."

Tommy jumped up directly; he was quite strong enough to turn thegrindstone, but he was much fonder of play than work; but as Ready hadsaid that he was fond of it, he wished to prove that such was the case,and worked very hard. Before they went to prayers and retired for thenight, the axe was sharpened, the knapsacks made, and everything elseready.

"When do you intend to start, Ready?" said Mr. Seagrave.

"Why, sir, I should like to get off at the dawn of day, when the heatis not so great."

"And when do you intend to come back?" said Mrs. Seagrave.

"Why, madam, we have provisions enough for three days: if we startto-morrow morning, which is Wednesday, I hope to be back some time onFriday evening; but I won't be later than Saturday morning if I canhelp it."

"Good-night - and good-bye, mother," said William, "for I shall not seeyou to-morrow!"

"God bless and protect you, my dear child!" replied Mrs. Seagrave.
"Take care of him, Ready, and good-bye to you till we meet."

Mrs. Seagrave went into the tent to hide the tears which she could notsuppress.

Chapter XIV

Ready was up before the sun had appeared, and he awakened William. Theknapsacks had been already packed, with two bottles of water in each,wrapped round with cocoa-nut leaves, to prevent their breaking, and thebeef and pork divided between each knapsack. Ready's, which was largerthan William's, held the biscuit and several other things which Readyhad prepared in case they might require them.

As soon as the knapsacks were on, Ready took the axe and gun, and askedWilliam if he thought he could carry a small spade on his shoulder,which they had brought on shore along with the shovels. William repliedthat he could; and the dogs, who appeared to know they were going, wereall ready standing by them. Then, just as the sun rose, they turnedinto the cocoa-nut grove, and were soon out of sight of the tents.

"Now, William, do you know," said Ready, stopping after they had walkedtwenty yards, "by what means we may find our way back again; for yousee this forest of trees is rather puzzling, and there is no path toguide us?"

"No, I am sure I cannot tell; I was thinking of the very same thingwhen you spoke; and of Tom Thumb, who strewed peas to find his wayback, but could not do it, because the birds picked them all up."

"Well, Tom Thumb did not manage well, and we must try to do better; wemust do as the Americans always do in their woods, - we must blaze thetrees."

"Blaze them! what, set fire to them?" replied William.

"No, no, William. Blaze is a term they use when they cut a slice of thebark off the trunk of a tree, just with one blow of a sharp axe, as amark to find their way back again. They do not blaze every tree, butabout every tenth tree as they go along, first one to the right, andthen one to the left, which is quite sufficient; and it is very littletrouble, - they do it as they walk along, without stopping. So nowwe'll begin: you take the other side, it will be more handy for you tohave your hatchet in your right hand; I can use my left. See now - justa slice off the bark - the weight of the axe does it almost."

"What an excellent plan!" observed William.

"But I have another friend in my pocket," replied Ready, "and I mustuse him soon."

"What is that?"

"Poor Captain Osborn's pocket-compass. You see, William, the blazingwill direct us how to go back again; but it will not tell us whatcourse we are now to steer. At present, I know we are going right, as Ican see through the wood behind us; but by and by we shall not be able,and then I must make use of the compass."

"I understand that very well; but tell me, Ready, why do you bring thespade with us - what will be the use of it? You did not say yesterdaythat you were going to bring me."

"No, William, I did not, as I did not like to make your mother anxious;but the fact is, I am very anxious myself as to whether there is anywater on this island; if there is not, we shall have to quit it sooneror later, for although we may get water by digging in the sand, itwould be too brackish to use for any time, and would make us all ill.Very often there will be water if you dig for it, although it does notshow above-ground; and therefore I brought the spade."

"You think of everything, Ready."

"No, I do not, William; but, in our present situation, I think of morethings than perhaps your father and mother would: they have never knownwhat it is to be put to their shifts; but a man like me, who has beenall his life at sea, and who has been wrecked, and suffered hardshipsand difficulties, and has been obliged to think or die, has a greaterknowledge, not only from his own sufferings, but by hearing how othershave acted when they were in distress. Necessity sharpens a man's wits;and it is very curious what people do contrive when they are compelledto do so, especially seamen."

"And where are we going to now, Ready?"

"Right to the leeward side of the island."

"Why do you call it the leeward side of the island?"

"Because among these islands the winds almost always blow one way; welanded on the windward side; the wind is at our back; now put up yourfinger, and you will feel it even among the trees."

"No, I cannot," replied William, as he held up his finger.

"Then wet your finger, and try again."

William wet his finger, and held it up again. "Yes, I feel it now,"said he; "but why is that?"

"Because the wind blows against the wet, and you feel the cold."

As Ready said this the dogs growled, then started forward and barked.

"What can be there?" cried William.

"Stand still, William," replied Ready, cocking his gun, "and I will goforward to see." Ready advanced cautiously with the gun to his hip. Thedogs barked more furiously; and at last, out of a heap of cocoa-nutleaves collected together, burst all the pigs which had been brought onshore, grunting and galloping away as fast as they could, with the dogsin pursuit of them.

"It's only the pigs," said Ready, smiling; "I never thought I should behalf-frightened by a tame pig. Here, Romulus! here, Remus! come back!"continued Ready, calling to the dogs. "Well, William, this is our firstadventure."

"I hope we shall not meet with any one more dangerous," replied
William, laughing; "but I must say that I was alarmed."

"No wonder; for, although not likely, it is possible there may be wildanimals on this island, or even savages; but being alarmed is onething, and being afraid is another: a man may be alarmed, and stand hisground; but a man that is afraid will run away."

"I do not think I shall ever run away and leave you, Ready, if there isdanger."

"I'm sure you will not; but still you must not be rash; and now we willgo on again, as soon as I have uncocked my gun. I have seen moreaccidents happen from people cocking their guns, and forgetting touncock them afterwards, than you can have any idea of. Recollect, also,until you want to fire, never cock your gun."

Ready and William continued their way through the cocoa-nut grove formore than an hour longer, marking the trees as they went along; theythen sat down to take their breakfast.

"Don't give the dogs any water, William, nor any of the salt meat; givethem biscuit only."

"But they are very thirsty; may not I give them a little?"

"No: we shall want it all ourselves, in the first place; and, in thenext, I wish them to be thirsty. And, William, take my advice, and onlydrink a small quantity of water at a time. The more you drink, the moreyou want."

"Then I should not eat so much salt meat."

"Very true; the less you eat the better, unless we find water, and fillour bottles again."

"But we have our axes, and can always cut down a cocoa-nut, and get themilk from the young nuts."

"Very true; and fortunate it is that we have that to resort to; butstill we could not do very well on cocoa-nut milk alone, even if itwere to be procured all the year round. Now we will go on if you do notfeel tired."

"Not in the least; I am tired of seeing nothing but the stems ofcocoa-nut trees, and shall be glad when we are through the wood."

"Then the faster we walk the better," said Ready; "as far as I canjudge, we must be about half-way across now."

Ready and William recommenced their journey; and, after half-an-hour'swalking, they found that the ground was not so level as it had been -sometimes they went gradually up hill, at others down.

"I am very glad to find the island is not so flat here; we have abetter chance of finding water."

"It is much steeper before us," replied William; "it's quite a hill."

The ground now became more undulating, although still covered withcocoa-nut trees, even thicker together than before. They continuedtheir march, occasionally looking at the compass, until William showedsymptoms of weariness, for the wood had become more difficult to getthrough than at first.

"How many miles do you think we have walked, Ready?" said Willy.

"About eight, I should think."

"Not more than eight?"

"No; I do not think that we have made more than two miles an hour: it'sslow work, travelling by compass and marking the trees; but I think thewood looks lighter before us, now that we are at the top of this hill."

"It does, Ready; I fancy I can see the blue sky again."

"Your eyes are younger than mine, William, and perhaps you may -however, we shall soon find out."

They now descended into a small hollow, and then went up hill again. Assoon as they arrived at the top, William cried out, "The sea, Ready!there's the sea!"

"Very true, William, and I'm not sorry for it."

"I thought we never should get out of that nasty wood again," saidWilliam, as he impatiently pushed on, and at last stood clear of thecocoa-nut grove. Ready soon joined him, and they surveyed the scenebefore them in silence.

Chapter XV

"Oh! how beautiful!" exclaimed William, at last; "I'm sure mamma wouldlike to live here. I thought the other side of the island very pretty,but it's nothing compared to this."

"It is very beautiful," replied Ready, thoughtfully.

A more lovely scene could scarcely be imagined. The cocoa-nut groveterminated about a quarter of a mile from the beach, very abruptly, forthere was a rapid descent for about thirty feet from where they stoodto the land below, on which was a mixture of little grass knolls andbrushwood, to about fifty yards from the water's edge, where it was metwith dazzling white sand, occasionally divided by narrow ridges of rockwhich ran inland. The water was a deep blue, except where it was brokeninto white foam on the reefs, which extended for miles from the beach,and the rocks of which now and then showed themselves above water. Onthe rocks were perched crowds of gannets and men-of-war birds, whileothers wheeled in the air, every now and then darting down into theblue sea, and bringing up in their bills a fish out of the shoals whichrippled the water, or bounded clear of it in their gambols. The form ofthe coast was that of a horse-shoe bay - two points of land coveredwith shrubs extending far out on each side. The line of the horizon,far out at sea, was clear and unbroken.

Ready remained for some time without speaking; he scanned the horizonright and left, and then he turned his eyes along the land. At lastWilliam said:

"What are you thinking of, Ready?"

"Why, I am thinking that we must look for water as fast as we can."

"But why are you so anxious?"

"Because I can see no island to leeward of us as I expected, andtherefore there is less chance of getting off this island; and thisbay, although very beautiful, is full of reefs, and I see no inlet,which makes it awkward for many reasons. But we cannot judge at firstsight. Let us now sit down and take our dinner, and after that we willexplore a little."

Ready cut two wide marks in the stems of the cocoa-nut trees, and thendescended with William to the low ground, where they sat down to eattheir dinner. As soon as their meal was finished they first walked downto the water's edge, and Ready turned his eyes inland to see if hecould discover any little ravine or hollow which might be likely tocontain fresh water. "There are one or two places there," observedReady, pointing to them with his finger, "where the water has run downin the rainy season: we must examine them carefully, but not now. Iwant to find out whether there is any means of getting our little boatthrough this reef of rocks, or otherwise we shall have very hard work(if we change our abode to this spot) to bring all our stores throughthat wood; so we will pass the rest of this day in examining the coast,and to-morrow we will try for fresh water."

"Look at the dogs, Ready, they are drinking the sea-water, poorthings!"

"They won't drink much of that, I expect; you see they don't like italready."

"How beautiful the corals are - look here, they grow like little treesunder the water, - and look here, here is really a flower in bloomgrowing on that rock just below the water."

"Put your finger to it, Master William," said Ready.

William did so, and the flower, as he called it, immediately shut up.

"Why, it's flesh, and alive!"

"Yes, it is; I have often seen them before: they call them sea-anemones- they are animals; but I don't know whether they are shell-fish ornot. Now, let us walk out to the end of this point of land, and see ifwe can discover any opening in the reef. The sun is going down, and weshall not have more than an hour's daylight, and then we must look outfor a place to sleep in."

"But what is that?" cried William, pointing to the sand - "that rounddark thing?"

"That's what I'm very glad to see, William: it's a turtle. They come upabout this time in the evening to drop their eggs, and then they burythem in the sand."

"Can't we catch them?"

"Yes, we can catch them if we go about it quietly; but you must takecare not to go behind them, or they will throw such a shower of sandupon you, with their hind flappers or fins, that they would blind youand escape at the same time. The way to catch them is to get at theirheads and turn them over on their backs by one of the fore-fins, andthen they cannot turn back again."

"Let us go and catch that one."

"I should think it very foolish to do so, as we could not take it away,and it would die to-morrow from the heat of the sun."

"I did not think of that, Ready; if we come to live here, I suppose weshall catch them whenever we want them."

"No, we shall not, for they only come on shore in the breeding-season;but we will make a turtle pond somewhere which they cannot get out of,but which the sea flows into; and then when we catch them we will putthem into it, and have them ready for use as we require them."

"That will be a very good plan," replied William.

They now continued their walk, and, forcing their way through thebrushwood which grew thick upon the point of land, soon arrived at theend of it.

"What is that out there?" said William, pointing to the right of wherethey stood.

"That is another island, which I am very glad to see even in thatdirection, although it will not be so easy to gain it, if we areobliged to leave this for want of water. It is a much larger islandthan this, at all events," continued Ready, scanning the length of thehorizon, along which he could see the tops of the trees. - "Well, wehave done very well for our first day, so we will go and look for aplace to lie down and pass the night."

They returned to the high ground where the cocoa-nut grove ended, andcollecting together several branches and piles of leaves, made a goodsoft bed under the trees.

"And now we'll go to bed. Look, William, at the long shadow of thetrees the sun has nearly set."

"Shall I give the dogs some water now, Ready? See, poor Remus islicking the sides of the bottles."

"No, do not give them any: it appears to be cruel, but I want theintelligence of the poor animals to-morrow, and the want of water willmake them very keen, and we shall turn it to good account. So now,William, we must not forget to return thanks to a merciful God, and tobeg his care over us for this night. We little know what the day maybring forth. Good-night!"

Chapter XVI

William slept as sound as if he had been on shore in England upon asoft bed in a warm room - so did old Ready; and when they awoke thenext morning it was broad daylight. The poor dogs were suffering forwant of water, and it pained William to see them with their tonguesout, panting and whining as they looked up to him. "Now, William," saidReady, "shall we take our breakfast before we start, or have a walkfirst?"

"Ready, I cannot really drink a drop of water myself, and I am thirsty,unless you give a little to these poor dogs."

"I pity the poor dumb creatures as much as you do, Master Willy; it iskindness to ourselves and them too, which makes me refuse it to them.However, if you like, we will take a walk first, and see if we can findany water. Let us first go to the little dell to the right, and if wedo not succeed, we will try farther on where the water has run downduring the rainy season." William was very glad to go, and away theywent, followed by the dogs, Ready having taken up the spade, which hecarried on his shoulder. They soon came to the dell, and the dogs puttheir noses to the ground, and snuffed about. Ready watched them; atlast they lay down panting.

"Let us go on," said Ready, thoughtfully; they went on to where the runof water appeared to have been - the dogs snuffed about more eagerlythan before.

"You see, William, these poor dogs are now so eager for water, that ifthere is any, they will find it out where we never could. I don'texpect water above-ground, but there may be some below it. This beachis hardly far enough from the water's edge, or I should try in the sandfor it."

"In the sand - but would it not be salt?" replied William.

"No, not if at a good distance from the sea-beach; for you see,William, the sand by degrees filters the sea-water fresh, and veryoften when the sand runs in a long way from the high-water mark, if youdig down, you will find good fresh water, at other times it is a littlebrackish, but still fit for use."

"Look, Ready, at Romulus and Remus - how hard they are digging withtheir paws there in the hollow."

"Thanks to Heaven that they are! You don't know how happy you have mademe feel: for, to tell you the truth, I was beginning to be alarmed."

"But why do they dig?"

"Because there is water there, poor animals. Now you see the advantageof having kept them in pain for a few hours; it is in all probabilitythe saving of all of us, for we must either have found water or quittedthis island. Now let us help the poor dogs with the spade, and theyshall soon be rewarded for their sufferings."

Ready walked quickly to where the dogs continued digging: they hadalready got down to the moist earth, and were so eagerly at work, thatit was with difficulty he could get them out of his way to use hisspade. He had not dug two feet before the water trickled down, and infour or five minutes the dogs had sufficient to plunge their noses in,and to drink copiously.

"Look at them! how they enjoy it! I don't think any Israelite felt moregrateful when Moses struck the rock than I do now, William. This wasthe one thing wanting, but it was the one thing indispensable. Now wehave everything we can wish for on this island, and if we are onlycontent, we may be happy - ay, much happier than are those who areworrying themselves to heap up riches, not knowing who shall gatherthem. See, the poor animals have had enough at last. Now, shall we goback to breakfast?"

"Yes," replied William: "I shall enjoy it now, and have a good drink ofwater myself."

"That is a plenteous spring, depend upon it," said Ready, as theywalked back to where they had slept and left their knapsacks; "but wemust clear it out further up among the trees, where the sun cannotreach it, and then it will be cool, and not be dried up. We shall haveplenty of work for the next year at least, if we remain here. Where weare now will be a capital spot to build our house on."

As soon as the breakfast was over, Ready said, "Now we must go down andexplore the other point, for you see, William, I have not yet found apassage through the reef, and as our little boat must come round thisside of the island, it is at the point on this side that I must try tofind an entrance. When I was on the opposite point it did appear to methat the water was not broken close to this point; and should there bea passage we shall be very fortunate."

They soon arrived at the end of the point of land, and found that Readywas not wrong in his supposition; the water was deep, and there was apassage many yards wide. The sea was so smooth, and the water so clear,that they could see down to the rocky bottom, and watched the fish asthey darted along. "Look there!" said Willy, pointing out about fiftyyards from the beach, "a great shark, Ready!"

"Yes, I see him, sir," replied Ready: "there's plenty of them here,depend upon it; and you must be very careful how you get into thewater: the sharks always keep to the leeward of the island, and for onewhere Juno bathed your little brother, you will find fifty here. I'mquite satisfied now, William, we shall do very well, and all we havenow to think of is moving away from the other side of the island asfast as possible."

"Shall we go back to-day?"

"Yes, I think so, for we shall only be idle here. It is not twelveo'clock, I should think, and we shall have plenty of time. I think wehad better start at once; we will leave the spade and axe here, for itis no use taking them back again. The musket I will take along. Butfirst let us go back and look at the spring, and see how the waterflows."

As they walked along the edge of the sandy beach they found thesea-birds hovering close to them: all of a sudden a large shoal of fishthrew themselves high and dry on the sand, and they were followed byseveral of a larger size, which also lay flapping on the beach, whilethe sea-birds, darting down close to the feet of William and Ready, andseizing up the fish, flew away with them.

"How very strange!" said William, surprised.

"Yes, sir; but you see how it is - the small fish were chased by thelarger ones, which are bonettas, and in their fright ran upon thebeach. These bonettas were so anxious to catch them, that they came onshore also, and then the gannets picked them all up."

They found the hole which Ready had dug quite full of water, and,tasting it, it proved very sweet and good. Overjoyed at this discovery,they covered up the articles they agreed to leave behind them with someboughs under the notched cocoa-nut trees, and, calling the dogs, setoff on their journey back again to the cove.

Chapter XVII

Guided by the marks made on the trees, William and Ready made rapidprogress in their return, and in less than two hours found themselvesalmost clear of the wood which had taken them nearly eight hours toforce their way through the day before.

"I feel the wind now, Ready," observed William, "and we must be nearlythrough the wood; but it appears to me to be very dark."

"I was just thinking the same," replied Ready. "I should not wonder ifthere is a storm brewing up; and if so, the sooner we are back againthe better."

As they proceeded, the rustling and waving of the boughs of the trees,and ever and anon a gust of wind, followed by a moaning and creakingsound, proved that such was the fact; and as they emerged from thegrove, they perceived that the sky, as it became visible to them, wasof one dark leaden hue, and no longer of the brilliant blue which itusually had presented to their sight.

"There is indeed a gale coming on," said Ready, as they cleared thewood: "let us go on to the tents as fast as possible, for we must seethat all is as secure as we can make it."

The dogs now bounded forward; and at their appearance at the tents Mr.Seagrave and Juno came out, and seeing Ready and William advancing,made known the welcome tidings to Mrs. Seagrave, who, with thechildren, had remained within. In a moment more William was pressed inhis mother's arms.

"I am glad that you are come back, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave, shakinghim by the hand after he had embraced William, "for I fear that badweather is coming on."

"I am sure of it," replied Ready, "and we must expect a blusterousnight. This will be one of the storms which are forerunners of therainy season. However, we have good news for you, and must only takethis as a warning to hasten our departure as soon as possible. We shallhave fine weather after this for a month or so, although we must expecta breeze now and then. But we must work hard and do our best; and now,if you please, you and Juno, William and I, will go and haul up theboat as far from the beach as we possibly can, for the waves will behigh and run a long way up, and our boat will be our main dependencesoon."

The four went down as soon as Ready had sawed the ends of the sparswhich had been cut off, into three rollers, to fix under the keel; withthe help afforded by them, the boat was soon hauled up high into thebrushwood, where it was considered by Ready to be perfectly safe.

"I meant to have worked upon her immediately," observed Ready; "but Imust wait now till the gale is over; and I did hope to have got onboard once more, and looked after some things which I have sinceremembered would have been useful; but I strongly suspect," continuedhe, looking at the weather, "that we shall never go on board of thepoor vessel again. Hear the moaning of the coming storm, sir; look howthe sea-birds wheel about and scream, as if to proclaim her doom; butwe must not wait here - the tents must be made more secure, for theywill have to hold up against no small force of wind, if I mistake not."

Ready, assisted by Mr. Seagrave, now got out some heavy canvas andlines, and commenced putting it as a double cover over the tents, tokeep out the rain; they also secured the tents with guys and stays ofrope, so as to prevent them being blown down; while Juno with a shoveldeepened the trench which had been made round the tents, so that thewater might run off more easily. During the time they were at work,Ready had made Mr. Seagrave acquainted with what they had discoveredand done during the exploring expedition, and the adventure with thepigs made them all laugh heartily.

As the sun went down, the weather threatened still more; the wind blewstrong, and the rocky beach was lashed by the waves and white withspray, while the surf roared as it poured in and broke upon the sand inthe cove. The whole family had retired to bed except Ready, who saidthat he would watch the weather a little before he turned in. The oldman walked towards the beach, and leaned against the gunnel of theboat, and there he remained with his keen gray eye fixed upon thedistance, which was now one opaque mass, except where the white foam ofthe waters gleamed through the darkness of the night! "Yes!" thoughthe; "the winds and the waves are summoned to do his bidding, and evenlydo they work together - as one rises, so does the other; when onehowls, the other roars in concert - hand in hand they go in their furyand their force. Had they been called up but one week since, wherewould have been those who have now been, as it were, intrusted to myweak help? The father, the mother, the children, the infant at thebreast, and I, the gray-headed old man, - all buried fathoms deep,awaiting our summons; but they were restrained by his will, and by hiswill we were saved. Will those timbers which bore us here somiraculously hold together till morning? I should think not. What arethe iron bolts and fastenings of weak man, compared with the force ofGod's elements: they will snap as yarns; and by to-morrow's dawn, thefragments of the stout ship will be washing and tossing on the wildsurf. Well, it will be a kindness to us, for the waters will performthe labour which we could not; they will break up the timbers for ouruse, and throw on shore from the hold those articles which we could notreach with our little strength."

A sharp flash of lightning struck upon the old man's eyes, andobstructed his vision for the moment. "The storm will soon be at itsheight," thought he; "I will watch the tents, and see how they stand upagainst its force." Then the rain came pattering down, and the windhowled louder than before. In a minute or two the darkness became sointense that he could hardly find his way back to the tents. He turnedround, but could not see, for he was blinded by the heavy rain. Asnothing could be done, he went into the tent and sheltered himself fromthe storm, although he would not lie down, lest his services might berequired. The others had retired to bed, but with the exception ofTommy and the children, they had not taken off their clothes.

Chapter XVIII

The storm now raged furiously, the lightning was accompanied by loudpeals of thunder, and the children awoke and cried with fright, tillthey were hushed to sleep again. The wind howled as it pressed with allits violence against the tents, while the rain poured off in torrents.One moment the canvas of the tents would bulge in, and the cords whichheld it strain and crack; at another, an eddy of wind would force outthe canvas, which would flap and flap, while the rain found many anentrance. The tent in which Mrs. Seagrave and the children reposed wason the outside of the others, and therefore the most exposed. Aboutmidnight the wind burst on them with greater violence than before. Aloud crash was heard by Ready and Mr. Seagrave, followed by the shrieksof Mrs. Seagrave and Juno; the pegs of the tent had given way, and theinmates were exposed to the fury of the elements. Ready rushed out,followed by Mr. Seagrave and William. So strong was the wind andbeating rain, and such was the darkness, that it was with somedifficulty that by their united efforts the women and children could beextricated. Tommy was the first taken up by Ready: his courage had allgone, and he was bellowing furiously. William took Albert in charge andcarried him into the other tent, where Tommy sat in his wet shirtroaring most melodiously. Juno, Mrs. Seagrave, and the little girl wereat last carried away and taken into the other tent: fortunately no onewas hurt, although the frightened children could not be pacified, andjoined in chorus with Tommy. Nothing more could be done except to putthe children into bed, and then the whole party sat up the remainder ofthe night listening to the noise of the wind, the roaring of the sea,and the loud patter of the rain against the canvas. At dawn of day,Ready went out, and found that the gale had spent its force, and hadalready much abated; but it was not one of those bright gloriousmornings to which they had been accustomed since their arrival at theisland: the sky was still dark, and the clouds were chasing each otherwildly; there was neither sun nor blue sky to be seen: it still rained,but only at intervals, and the earth was soft and spongy; the littlecove, but the day before so beautiful, was now a mass of foaming andtumultuous waves, and the surf was thrown many yards upon the beach:the horizon was confused - you could not distinguish the line betweenthe water and the sky, and the whole shore of the island was lined witha white foam. Ready turned his eyes to where the ship had been fixed onthe rocks: it was no longer there - the whole frame had disappeared;but the fragments of it, and the contents of the holds, were floatingabout in every direction, or tossing amongst the surf on the beach.

"I thought as much," said Ready, pointing to where the ship had lain,as he turned round and found that Mr. Seagrave had followed him; "look,sir, this gale has broken her up entirely. This is a warning to us notto remain here any longer: we must make the most of the fine weatherwhich we may have before the rainy season sets in."

"I agree with you, Ready," replied Mr. Seagrave, - "and there isanother proof of it," pointing to the tent which had been blown down."It was a mercy that none of them were hurt."

"Very true, sir; but the gale is breaking, and we shall have fineweather to-morrow. Let us now see what we can do with the tent, whileWilliam and Juno try if they can get any breakfast."

They set to work. Ready and Mr. Seagrave made it fast with fresh cordsand pegs, and very soon had it all ready; but the beds and bedding werewet through. They hauled over the wet canvas, and then left it to go totheir breakfast, to which Juno had summoned them.

"We need do no more at present," said Ready, "by night-time it will notbe so wet, and we can handle it easier. I see a break in the sky nowwhich promises fine weather soon. And now we had better work hardto-day, for we may save a great many things, which may be dashed topieces on the rocks, if we do not haul them on the beach."

Chapter XIX

They went down to the beach. Ready first procured from the stores agood stout rope; and as the waves threw up casks and timbers of thevessel, they stopped them from being washed back again, and eitherrolled or hauled them up with the rope until they were safely landed.This occupied them for the major part of the day; and yet they had notcollected a quarter of the articles that were in their reach,independent of the quantity which floated about out at sea and at theentrance of the cove.

"I think," said Ready, "we have done a good day's work; tomorrow weshall be able to do much more, for the sea is going down, and the sunis showing himself from the corner of that cloud. Now we will go tosupper, and then see if we can make ourselves more comfortable for thenight."

The tent which had not been blown down was given to Mrs. Seagrave andthe children, and the other was fitted up as well as it could be. Thebedding being all wet, they procured some sails from the stores, which,being stowed away farther in the grove, had not suffered much from thetempest; and, spreading the canvas, they lay down, and the night passedwithout any disaster, for the wind was now lulled to a pleasant breeze.

The next morning the sun shone bright - the air was fresh and bracing;but a slight breeze rippled the waters, and there was little or nosurf. The various fragments of the wreck were tossed by the little surfthat still remained; many things were lying on the beach which hadlanded during the night, and many more required but a little trouble tosecure them. There appeared to be a sort of in draught into the cove,as all the articles which had been floating out at sea were nowgradually coming on shore in that direction. Ready and Mr. Seagraveworked till breakfast-time, and had by that time saved a great manycasks and packages.

After breakfast they went down again to the beach and resumed theirlabours. "Look, Ready; what is that?" said William, who was with them,as he pointed to a white-looking mass floating in the cove.

"That, sir, is the poor cow; and if you look again, you will see thesharks are around, making a feast of her: don't you see them?"

"Yes, I do - what a quantity!"

"Yes, there's no want of them, William; so be very careful how you getinto the water, and never let Tommy go near it, for they don't care howshallow it is when they see their food. But now, sir," said Ready, "Imust leave you and William to do what you can in saving any more of thewreck, while I set to and put the boat in proper repair."

Ready left them at their own employment, and went away for his tools.During this time Mr. Seagrave and William occupied themselves incollecting the different articles thrown on shore, and rolling up thecasks as far as they could.

As it would take some days for Ready to put the boat into proper order,Mr. Seagrave determined that he would go to the other side of theisland with William, that he might examine it himself; and, as Mrs.Seagrave had no objection to be left with Ready and Juno, on the thirdday after the gale they set off. William led the way, guiding hisfootsteps through the grove by the blazing of the cocoa-nut trees; andin two hours they reached their destination.

"Is not this beautiful, father?" said William.

"Yes, indeed it is, my dear boy," replied Mr. Seagrave. "I fancied thatnothing could be more beautiful than the spot where we reside, but thissurpasses it, not only in variety, but in extent."

"And now let us examine the spring, father," said William, leading theway to the ravine.

The spring was full and flowing, and the water excellent. They thendirected their steps towards the sandy beach, and, having walked sometime, sat down upon a coral rock.

"Who would have ever imagined, William," said Mr. Seagrave, "that thisisland, and so many more which abound in the Pacific Ocean, could havebeen raised by the work of little insects not bigger than a pin'shead?"

"Insects, father?" replied William.

"Yes, insects. Give me that piece of dead coral, William. Do you seethat on every branch there are a hundred little holes? Well, in everyone of these little holes once lived a sea-insect; and as these insectsincrease, so do the branches of the coral-trees."

"Yes, I understand that; but how do you make out that this island wasmade by them?"

"Almost all the islands in these seas have been made by the labour andincrease of these small animals. The coral grows at first at the bottomof the sea, where it is not disturbed by the winds or waves: bydegrees, as it increases, it advances higher and higher to the surface,till at last it comes near to the top of the water; then it is stoppedin its growth by the force of the winds and waves, which break it off,and of course it never grows above the water, for if it did the animalswould die."

"Then how does it become an island?"

"By very slow degrees; the time, perhaps, much depending upon chance:for instance, a log of wood floating about, and covered with barnacles,may ground upon the coral reefs; that would be a sufficientcommencement, for it would remain above water, and then shelter thecoral to leeward of it, until a flat rock had formed, level with theedge of the water. The sea-birds are always looking for a place to restupon, and they would soon find it, and then their droppings would, incourse of time, form a little patch above water, and other floatingsubstances would be thrown on it; and land-birds, who are blown out tosea, might rest themselves on it, and the seeds from their stomachs,when dropped, would grow into trees or bushes."

"I understand that."

"Well then, William, you observe there is an island commenced, as itwere, and, once commenced, it soon increases, for the coral would thenbe protected to leeward, and grow up fast. Do you observe how the coralreefs extend at this side of the island, where they are protected fromthe winds and waves; and how different it is on the weather side, whichwe have just left? Just so the little patch above water protects thecorals to leeward, and there the island increases fast; for the birdsnot only settle on it, hut they make their nests and rear their young,and so every year the soil increases; and then, perhaps, one cocoa-nutin its great outside shell at last is thrown on these little patches -it takes root, and becomes a tree, every year shedding its largebranches, which are turned into mould as soon as they decay, and thendropping its nuts, which again take root and grow in this mould; andthus they continue, season after season, and year after year, until theisland becomes as large and as thickly covered with trees as the one weare now standing upon. Is not this wonderful, my dear boy? Is not he agreat and good God who can make such minute animals as these work hispleasure, and at the time he thinks fit produce such a beautiful islandas this?"

"Indeed he is!" exclaimed William.

"We only need use our eyes, William, and we shall love as well asadore. Look at that shell - is it not beautifully marked? - could thebest painter in the world equal its colouring?"

"No, indeed, - I should think not."

"And yet there are thousands of them in sight, and perhaps millionsmore in the water. They have not been coloured in this way to beadmired, like the works of man; for this island has been till nowprobably without any one upon it, and no one has ever seen them. Itmakes no difference to Him, who has but to wish, and all is complete."

For a few minutes after this conversation, Mr. Seagrave and Williamwere both silent. Mr. Seagrave then rose from where he was sitting:"Come, William, let us now find our way back again; we have threehours' daylight left, and shall be home in good time."

Chapter XX

Everything was now preparing for their removal to the leeward side ofthe island. Ready had nearly completed the boat; he had given it athorough repair, and fitted a mast and sail. William and Mr. Seagravecontinued to collect and secure the various articles thrown on shore,particularly such as would be injured by their exposure to the weather:these they rolled or carried into the cocoa-nut grove, so as to besheltered from the sun; but there were so many things thrown on shoreday after day, that they hardly knew what they had: but they securedcase and cask one after another, waiting for a better opportunity toexamine their contents. At last they collected a great many articlestogether, and, with their shovels, covered them over with sand, itbeing impossible to get them from the beach without more time than theycould spare.

Neither was Mrs. Seagrave, who was now getting quite strong, or Juno,idle. They had made up everything that they could in packages, readyfor moving. On the eighth day after the gale, they were ready, and itwas arranged that Ready should put into the boat the bedding and canvasof one tent, and should take William with him on his expedition. Havingtransported this safe, he should return for a load of the mostnecessary articles, and then the family should walk through the groveto the other side of the island, and remain there with Mr. Seagravewhile Ready and William returned for the other tent; and after that,the boat should make as many trips as the weather would permit, tillthey had brought all the things absolutely required. It was a lovelycalm morning when Ready and William pushed off in the boat, which waswell loaded; and as soon as they were clear of the cove they hoistedthe sail, and went away before the wind along the coast. In two hoursthey had run to the eastern end of the island, and hauled up closeinshore: the point which ran out, and at the end of which there was aninlet, was not a mile from them, and in a very short time they hadlowered the sail, and were pulling in for the sandy beach.

"You see, William, it is fortunate for us that we shall always have afair wind when we come down loaded, and only have to pull our emptyboat back again."

"Indeed it is. How many miles do you think it is from the cove to thispart of the island?"

"About six or seven, not more: the island, you see, is long and narrow.Now let us get the things out and carry them up, and then we will beback to the cove long before dark."

The boat was soon unloaded, but they had some way to carry up thethings. "We shall not mind such a gale as we had the other day when ourtents are pitched here, William," said Ready, "for we shall beprotected by the whole width of the cocoa-nut grove. We shall hardlyfeel the wind, although we shall the rain, for that will come down intorrents."

"I must go and see how our spring gets on," said William, "and get adrink from it."

Willy reported the spring to be up to the brim with water, and that hehad never drunk water so excellent. They then pushed off the boat, and,after rowing for about two hours or more, found themselves at theentrance of the cove, and Mrs. Seagrave, with Tommy by her side, wavingher handkerchief to them.

They very soon pulled in to the beach, and, landing, received thecongratulations of the whole party at their first successful voyage,and all expressed their delight at its having proved so much shorterthan had been anticipated.

"Tommy will go next time," said Master Tommy.

"By and by, when Tommy grows a little taller," replied Ready.

"Massa Tommy, you come help me to milk the goats," said Juno.

"Yes, Tommy milk the goats," said the little urchin, running after
Juno.

"You must be almost tired of eating nothing but salt meat and biscuit,ma'am," said Ready, as they sat down to their meal; "but when we areall safe on the other side of the island we hope to feed you better. Atpresent it is hard work and hard fare."

"As long as the children are well, I care very little about it; but Imust say that, after the last gale, I am as anxious as you to be on theother side of the island, especially after the account William hasgiven me of it. It must be a paradise! When do we set off?"

"Not till the day after to-morrow, ma'am, I should think; for you see Imust have another trip for the cooking utensils and the bundles whichyou have made up. If you will spare Juno to walk through the wood withWilliam to-morrow, we will then have the tent ready for you and thechildren."

Chapter XXI

Old Ready had his boat loaded and had made sail for the other side ofthe island long before the family were up; indeed, before they weredressed he had landed his whole cargo on the beach, and was sittingdown quietly taking his breakfast. As soon as he had eaten the beef andbiscuit which he had taken with him, he carried up the things which hehad brought, and commenced arrangements for setting up the tent,intending to await the arrival of William and Juno, that they mightassist him in getting up the spars and canvas over it.

About ten o'clock William made his appearance, leading one of the goatsby a string, followed by the others. Juno came after with the sheep,also holding one with a cord; the rest had very quietly joined theprocession. "Here we are at last!" said William laughing; "we have hadterrible work in the woods, for Nanny would run on one side of a treewhen I went on the other, and then I had to let go the string. We fellin with the pigs again, and Juno gave such a squall!"

"I tink 'em wild beast," said Juno. "Ah! what a nice place! Missis willlike to live here."

"Yes, it is a very nice place, Juno; and you'll be able to wash here,and never mind about saving the water."

"I am thinking," said William, "how we are to get the fowls here; theyare not very wild, but still we cannot catch them."

"I'll bring them with me to-morrow, William."

"But how will you catch them?"

"Wait till they are gone to roost, and then you may catch them when youplease."

"And I suppose the pigeons and the pigs must run wild?"

"The best thing we can do with them."

"Then we shall have to shoot them, I suppose?"

"Well, William, so we shall; and the pigeons also, when they havebecome plentiful, if we remain here so long. We shall soon be wellstocked and live in plenty. But now you must help me to get the tent upand everything in order, so that your mamma may find things comfortableon her arrival, for she will be very tired, I dare say, walking throughthe wood."

"Mamma is much better than she was," replied William. "I think she willsoon be quite strong again, especially when she comes to live at thisbeautiful place."

"We have a great deal of work to do, more than we can get throughbefore the rainy season; which is a pity, but it can't helped; by thistime next year we shall be more comfortable."

"Why, what have we to do besides putting up the tents and shifting overhere?"

"In the first place we have to build a house, and that will take a longwhile. Then we ought to make a little garden, and sow the seeds whichyour father brought from England with him."

"0h! that will be nice; where shall we make it, Ready?"

"We must put a fence across that point of land, and dig up all thebrushwood; the mould is very good."

"Then what next?"

"Then we shall want a storehouse for all the things we have got, andall that are in the wood and on the beach: and consider what a manytrips we shall have to make with the little boat to bring them allround."

"Yes, that is very true, Ready. Have we anything more to do?"

"Plenty; we have to build a turtle-pond and a fish-pond, and abathing-place for Juno to wash the children in. But first we must makea proper well at the spring, so as to have plenty of fresh water: nowthere's enough for a year's hard work at least."

"Well, let us once get mamma and the children here, and we will workhard."

"I should wish very much to see it all done, William," said Ready. "Ihope my life will be spared till it is done, at all events."

"But why do you say that, Ready? you are an old man, but you are strongand healthy."

"I am so now; but what does the Book say? - `In the midst of life weare in death'. You are young and healthy, and promise a long life; butwho knows but you may be summoned away tomorrow. Can I, then, an oldman, worn out with hardships, expect to live long? No - no, William!Still I should like to remain here as long as I can be useful, and thenI trust I may depart in peace. I never wish to leave this island; and Ihave a kind of feeling that my bones will remain on it. God's will bedone!"

For some time after Ready had finished, neither of them said a word,but continued their employment, stretching out the canvas of the tent,and fastening it down to the ground with pegs. At last William brokethe silence.

"Ready, did you not say your Christian name was Masterman?"

"So it is, William."

"It is a very odd Christian name! You were called after some otherperson?"

"Yes, I was, William; he was a very rich man."

"Do you know, Ready, I should like very much if you will one day tellme your history - I mean your whole life, from the time you were aboy."

"Well, perhaps I may, William; for there are many parts of my lifewhich would prove a lesson to others: but that must be after we havegot through our work."

"How old are you, Ready?"

"I am turned of sixty-four; a very old age for a seaman. I could notobtain employment on board of a vessel if it were not that I am wellknown to several captains."

"But why do you say `old for a seaman'?"

"Because sailors live faster than other people, partly from thehardships which they undergo, and partly from their own fault indrinking so much spirits; and then they are too often reckless and carenothing for their healths."

"But you never drink spirits now?"

"No, never, William; but in my early days I was as foolish as others.Now, Juno, you may bring in the bedding. We have two or three hoursyet, William; what shall we do next?"

"Had we not better make the fireplace all ready for cooking?"

"It was what I was going to propose, if you had not. I shall be hereto-morrow long before any of you, and I will take care that supper isready on your arrival."

"I brought a bottle of water in my knapsack," replied William, "not somuch for the water, as because I want to milk the goats and take backthe milk for baby."

"You proved yourself not only thoughtful but kind, William: now whileyou and Juno fetch the stones for the fireplace, I will stow away underthe trees the things I have brought in the boat."

"Shall we let the goats and sheep loose, Ready?"

"Oh, yes, - there is no fear of their straying; the herbage here isbetter than on the other side, and there is plenty of it."

"Well, I will let Nanny go as soon as Juno has milked her. Now, Juno,let us see how many stones we can carry at once."

In an hour the fireplace was made, Ready had done all that he could,the goats were milked and let loose, and then William and Juno set offon their journey back.

Ready went down to the beach. On his arrival there, he observed a smallturtle: creeping up softly he got between it and the water, andsucceeded in turning it over. "That will do for to-morrow," said he, ashe stepped into the boat; and laying hold of the oars, he pulled out ofthe bay to return to the cove.

Chapter XXII

Ready arrived at the cove, and proceeded to the tents, where he foundthe whole party listening to William, who was detailing what had beendone. The arrangements for the next day were made as soon as Readyjoined them. They then separated for the night, but Ready and Williamremained until it was dark, to catch the fowls and tie their legs,ready for their being put in the boat the next morning. At daylight allwere summoned to dress themselves as soon as possible, as Ready wantedto take down the tent in which Mrs. Seagrave and the children hadslept. For, with the exception of Tommy, the others had slept upon somecanvas, which they had spread out under the cocoa-nut trees. As soon asMrs. Seagrave was dressed, the tent was taken down, and, with all thebedding, put into the boat. Then, when they had breakfasted, theplates, knives and forks, and some other necessaries, were also put in;Ready laid the fowls on the top of all, and set off by himself fortheir new location.

After he was gone, the rest of the party prepared for their journeythrough the cocoa-nut grove. William led the way, with the three dogsclose to his heels, Mr. Seagrave with the baby in his arms, Juno withlittle Caroline, and Mrs. Seagrave with Master Tommy holding her hand.They cast a last look round at the cove, and the fragments of the wreckand cargo, strewed about in every direction, and then turned into thewood. Ready arrived at the point, and was again on shore in less thantwo hours after he had set off. As soon as the boat was safe in, he didnot wait to land his cargo, but going up to the turtle which he hadturned the day before, he killed it, and cleaned it on the beach. Hethen went to where they had built up the fireplace with stones, made afire, filled the iron saucepan full of water, and set it on to boil; hethen cut up a portion of the turtle, and put it into the pot, with someslices of salt pork, covered it up, and left it to boil; and havinghung up the rest of the turtle in the shade, he went back to the beachto unload the boat. He released the poor fowls, and they were soon busyseeking for food.

It was two or three hours before he had carried everything up, for itwas a good distance, and some of the articles were heavy, and the oldman was not sorry when he had finished his task, and could sit down torest himself.

"It's almost time they arrived," thought Ready; "they must have startednearly four hours ago." Ready remained a quarter of an hour morewatching the fire, and occasionally skimming the top of the pot, whenthe three dogs came bounding towards him.

"Well, they are not far off now," observed Old Ready.

In six or seven minutes afterwards the party made their appearance,very hot and very fatigued. It appeared that poor little Caroline hadbeen tired out, and Juno had to carry her; then Mrs. Seagravecomplained of fatigue, and they had to rest a quarter of an hour; thenTommy, who refused to remain with his mamma, and had been runningbackwards and forwards from one to the other, had declared that he wastired, and that someone must carry him; but there was no one to carryhim, so he began to cry until they stopped for another quarter of anhour till he was rested; then as soon as they went on again he againcomplained of being tired. William then carried him pickaback for sometime, and in so doing he missed the blaze-cut on the trees, and it wasa long while before he could find it again; then baby became hungry,and he cried, and little Caroline was frightened at being so long inthe wood, and she cried. But finally they got on better, and arrived atlast so warm and exhausted, that Mrs. Seagrave went into the tent withthe children to repose a little, before she could even look at theplace which was to be their future residence.

"I think," said Mr. Seagrave, "that this little journey of to-day hasbeen a pretty good proof of how helpless we should have been withoutyou, Ready."

"I am glad that you are here, sir," replied Ready, "it is a weight offmy mind; now you will get on better. I think that after a while you maylive very comfortably here; but still we have much to do. As soon asMadam has rested, we will have our dinner and then fix up our own tent,which will be quite enough after such a hard day's work."

"Do you go back to the cove to-morrow, Ready?"

"Yes, sir, we want our stores here; it will take about three trips toempty our storehouses; and as to the other things, we can examine themand bring them down at our leisure. As soon as I have made those threetrips in the boat, we can then work here altogether."

"But I can do something in the meantime."

"Oh yes, there is plenty for you to do."

Mr. Seagrave went into the tent, and found his wife much refreshed; butthe children had all fallen fast asleep on the beds. They waitedanother half-hour, and then woke Tommy and Caroline, that they mightall sit down to dinner.

"Dear me," exclaimed William, as Ready took the cover off the saucepan,"what is it that you have so good there?"

"It's a treat I have prepared for you all," replied Ready. "I know thatyou are tired of salt meat, so now you are going to feed likealdermen."

"Why, what is it, Ready?" said Mrs. Seagrave; "it smells very good."

"It is turtle-soup, ma'am; and I hope you will like it; for, if you do,you may often have it, now that you are on this side of the island."

"Indeed, it really is excellent; but it wants a little salt. Have youany salt, Juno?"

"Got a little, ma'am. Very little left," replied Juno.

"What shall we do when all our salt is gone?" said Mrs. Seagrave.

"Juno must get some more," replied Ready.

"How I get salt? - hab none left," replied Juno, looking at Ready.

"There's plenty out there, Juno," said Mr. Seagrave, pointing to thesea.

"I don't know where," said Juno, looking in that direction.

"What do you mean, my dear?" inquired Mrs. Seagrave.

"I only mean if we want salt we can have as much as we please byboiling down salt-water in the kettle, or else making a salt-pan in therocks, and obtaining it by the sun drying up the water and leaving thesalt. Salt is always procured in that way, either by evaporation, orboiling."

"I'll soon arrange that for you, ma'am," said Ready, "and show Juno howto get it when she wants it."

"I am very glad to hear you say so; for I should feel the want of saltvery much," replied Mrs. Seagrave, "I really never enjoyed a dinner somuch as I have to-day."

The soup was pronounced excellent by everybody. As soon as they hadfinished, Mrs. Seagrave remained with the children; and Ready and Mr.Seagrave, assisted by Juno and William, got the second tent up, andeverything ready for the night. They then all assembled, and returnedthanks to God for their having gained their new abode; and, tired outwith the fatigue of the day, were soon fast asleep.

Chapter XXIII

Mr. Seagrave was the first up on the ensuing morning; and when Readycame out of the tent, he said to him, "Do you know, Ready, I feel muchhappier and my mind much more at ease since I find myself here. On theother side of the island everything reminded me that we had beenshipwrecked; and I could not help thinking of home and my own country;but here we appear as if we had been long settled, and as if we hadcome here by choice."

"I trust that feeling will be stronger every day, sir; for it's no use,and indeed sinful, to repine."

"I acknowledge it, and with all humility. What is the first thing whichyou wish we should set about?"

"I think, sir, the first object is to have a good supply of freshwater; and I therefore wish you and William - Here he is. Good-morning,William - I was saying that I thought it better that Mr. Seagrave andyou should clear out the spring while I am away in the boat. I broughtanother shovel with me yesterday, and you both can work; perhaps we hadbetter go there, as Juno, I see, is getting the breakfast ready. Youobserve, Mr. Seagrave, we must follow up the spring till we get amongthe cocoa-nut trees, where it will be shaded from the sun; that iseasily done by digging towards them, and watching how the water flows.Then, if you will dig out a hole large enough to sink down in the earthone of the water-casks which lie on the beach, I will bring it downwith me this afternoon; and then, when it is fixed in the earth in thatway, we shall always have the cask full of water for use, and thespring filling it as fast as we empty it."

"I understand," replied Mr. Seagrave; "that shall be our task while youare absent."

"Now, I have nothing more to do than to speak to Juno about dinner,"replied Ready; "and then I'll just take a mouthful, and be off."

Ready directed Juno to fry some pork in the frying-pan, and then to cutoff some slices from the turtle, and cook turtle-steaks for dinner, aswell as to warm up the soup which was left; and then, with a biscuitand a piece of beef in his hand, he went down to the boat and set offfor the cove. Mr. Seagrave and William worked hard; and, by twelveo'clock, the hole was quite large and deep enough, according to thedirections Ready had given. They then left their work and went to thetent.

"You don't know how much happier I am now that I am here," said Mrs.
Seagrave, taking her husband's hand, as he seated himself by her.

"I trust it is a presentiment of future happiness, my dear," said Mr.
Seagrave. "I assure you that I feel the same, and was saying so to
Ready this morning."

"I feel that I could live here for ever, it is so calm and beautiful;but I miss one thing - there are no birds singing here as at home."

"I have seen no birds except sea-birds, and of them there is plenty.
Have you, William?"

"Only once, father. I saw a flight a long way off. Ready was not withme, and I could not tell what they were; but they were large birds, asbig as pigeons, I should think. There is Ready coming round the point,"continued William. "How fast that little boat sails! It is a long pull,though, for the old man when he goes to the cove."

"Let us go down and help Ready carry up some of the things beforedinner," said Mrs. Seagrave.

They did so; and William rolled up the empty water-cask which Ready hadbrought with him.

The turtle-steaks were as much approved of as the turtle-soup; indeed,after having been so long on salt meat, a return to fresh provisionswas delightful.

"And now to finish our well," said William, as soon as dinner was over.

"How hard you do work, William!" said his mother.

"So I ought, mother. I must learn to do everything now."

"And that you will very soon," said Ready.

They rolled the cask to the spring, and, to their astonishment, foundthe great hole which they had dug not two hours before quite full ofwater.

"Oh dear," said William, "we shall have to throw all the water out toget the cask down."

"Think a little, William," said Mr. Seagrave, "for the spring runs sofast that it will not be an easy task. Cannot we do something else?"

"Why, father, the cask will float, you know," replied William.

"To be sure it will as it is; but is there no way of making it sink?"

"Oh yes. I know - we must bore some holes in the bottom, and then itwill fill and sink down of itself."

"Exactly," replied Ready. "I expected that we should have to do that,and have the big gimlet with me."

Ready bored three or four holes in the bottom of the cask, and as itfloated the water ran into it, and by degrees it gradually sank down.As soon as the top of the cask was level with the surface they filledin all round with the spade and shovel, and the well was completed.

Chapter XXIV

The next morning, as soon as breakfast was over, Mr. Seagrave observed:"Now that we have so many things to do, I think, Ready, we ought to laydown a plan of operations; method is everything when work is to bedone: now tell me what you propose shall be our several occupations forthe next week, for to-morrow is Sunday; and although we have not yetbeen able to honour the day as we should, I think that now we must andought to keep it holy."

"Yes, sir," replied Ready. "To-morrow we will rest from our labour, andask God's blessing upon our endeavours during the six days of the week;and now, as to your proposition, Mr. Seagrave, shall we begin firstwith the lady?"

"You must not consider that you have ladies with you now, Ready," saidMrs. Seagrave, "at least, not fine ladies. My health and strength arerecovering fast, and I mean to be very useful. I propose to assist Junoin all the domestic duties, such as the cookery and washing, to lookafter and teach the children, mend all the clothes, and make all thatis required, to the best of my ability. If I can do more I will."

"I think we may be satisfied with that, Mr. Seagrave," replied Ready."Now, sir, the two most pressing points, with the exception of buildingthe house, are to dig up a piece of ground, and plant our potatoes andseeds; and to make a turtle-pond, so as to catch the turtle and putthem in before the season is over."

"You are right," replied Mr. Seagrave; "but which ought to be donefirst?"

"I should say the turtle-pond, as it will be only a few days' work foryou, Juno, and William. I shall not want your assistance for this nextweek. I shall fix upon some spot, not far from here, where the treesare thickest in the grove, and cut them down so as to clear out a spacein which we will, by and by, build our storerooms; and, as soon as therainy season has gone by, we can remove all our stores from the otherside of the island. It will occupy me the whole of the week, cuttingdown the trees and sawing them into proper lengths, ready for buildingthe house, and then we must all join our strength and get it up withoutdelay."

"Can you really manage to get it up in time? How soon do you expect therains will come on?"

"In three or four weeks. After next week, I shall probably have theassistance of two of you, if not of all. Now I think of it, I mustreturn to the cove."

"What for?"

"Don't you recollect, sir, your two-wheeled carriage, packed up inmatting, which was thrown on shore in the gale? You laughed when yousaw it, and said it would be of little use now; but the wheels and axlewill he very useful, as we can make a wide path to the place when I cutdown the trees, and wheel out the logs much more easily than we candrag or carry them."

"That is an excellent idea. It will save a great deal of labour."

"I expect that it will, sir. William and I will go away early on Mondaymorning, and be back before breakfast. To-day we will fix upon thespots where our garden is to be, our turtle-pond to be made, and thetrees to be cut down. That shall be our business, Mr. Seagrave; andWilliam and Juno may put things a little more to rights here."

Mr. Seagrave and Ready then walked down to the beach, and, aftersurveying the reefs for some time, Ready said, "You see, Mr. Seagrave,we do not want too much water for a turtle-pond, as, if it is too deep,there is a difficulty in catching them when we want them: what we wantis a space of water surrounded by a low wall of stones, so that theanimals cannot escape, for they cannot climb up, although they can walkon the shelving sand with their flippers. Now the reef here is high outof the water, and the space within the reef and the beach is deepenough, and the rocks on the beach nearly fill up that side and preventthem crawling away by the shore. We have, therefore, little more to dothan to fill up the two other sides, and then our pond will becomplete."

"I see it will not be a long job either, if we can find loose rocksenough," replied Mr. Seagrave.

"Almost all those which are on the beach are loose," replied Ready,"and there are plenty close to us: some of them will be too heavy tocarry, but they can be brought here by the aid of handspikes andcrowbars. Suppose we make a signal for William and Juno, and set themto work."

Mr. Seagrave called and waved his hat, and Juno and William came downto them. Juno was ordered to go back for two handspikes, while Readyexplained to William what was to be done. Having stayed with them andassisted them for some time after Juno had returned with theimplements, Mr. Seagrave and Ready proceeded to the point, to fix upona spot for a garden, leaving William and Juno to continue their labour.

Chapter XXV

Mr. Seagrave and Ready then continued their way along the beach, untilthey arrived at the point which the latter had considered as aconvenient place to make the garden. They found a sufficiency of mould;and as the point was narrow at its joining on to the mainland, no greatlength of enclosure would be required.

"You see, sir," said Ready, "we can wait till after the rainy season isover before we put up the fence, and we can prepare it in the meantime,when the weather will permit us to work. The seeds and potatoes willnot come up until after the rains are finished; so all we have to do isto dig up the ground, and put them in as fast as we can. We cannot makea large garden this year; but our potatoes we must contrive to get in,if we cannot manage anything else."

"If we have no fence to make," replied Mr. Seagrave, "I think we shallbe able to clear away quite enough ground in a week to put in all thatwe require."

"The first job will be to pull up the small brushwood," said Ready,"and turn up the ground; the larger plants we must leave, if we havenot time. Tommy might be of some use here in taking away the shrubs asyou pull them up; but we had better now go on to the grove, and choosethe spot for cutting down the trees. I have made my mark."

Ready and Mr. Seagrave proceeded in the direction which the former hadpointed out, until they arrived at a spot on a rising ground, where thetrees were so thick that it was not very easy to pass through them.

"There is the place," said Ready. "I propose to cut all the timber wewant for the houses out of this part of the grove, and to leave an opensquare place, in the centre of which we will build our storerooms. Yousee, sir, if necessary, with a very little trouble we might turn itinto a place of protection and defence, as a few palisades here andthere between the trees would make it, what they call in the EastIndies, a stockade."

"Very true, but I trust we shall not require it for such a purpose."

"I hope so too, but there is nothing like being prepared; however, wehave plenty to do before we can think of that. Now, sir, as dinner isready, suppose we return, and after dinner we will both commence ourtasks."

Juno and William returned to the dinner which Mrs. Seagrave hadprepared. They were both very warm with their work, which was veryhard, but very eager to finish their task. After dinner was over, Mrs.Seagrave requested her husband, as he was about to go down to thepoint, with the spade and a small hatchet in his hand, to take Tommywith him, as she had a great deal to do, and could not watch him aswell as the baby and Caroline. So Mr. Seagrave took Tommy by the hand,and led him to the point, and made him sit down close to him while hecleared away the brushwood.

Mr. Seagrave worked very hard, and when he had cut down and cleared aportion of the ground, he made Tommy carry away to a little distance,and pile in a heap, the bushes which he had cleared away. When Mr.Seagrave had cleared away a large piece of ground with his hatchet, hethen took his spade to dig at the roots and turn up the mould, leavingTommy to amuse himself. What Tommy did for about an hour, during whichMr. Seagrave worked very diligently, his father did not observe; butall of a sudden he began to cry; and when his father asked him thereason, he did not answer, but only cried the more, until at last heput his hands to his stomach, and roared most lustily. As he appearedto be in very great pain, his father left off work, and led him up tothe tent, when Mrs. Seagrave came out, alarmed at his cries. Ready, whohad heard Tommy screaming for so long a while, thought that there mightbe something serious, and left his work to ascertain the cause. When heheard what had passed, he said:

"Depend upon it, the child has eaten something which has made him ill.
Tell me, Tommy, what did you eat when you were down there?"

"Berries," roared Tommy.

"I thought as much, ma'am," said Ready. "I must go and see what theberries were." And the old man hastened down to the place where Mr.Seagrave had been at work. In the meantime Mrs. Seagrave was muchalarmed lest the child should have poisoned himself, and Mr. Seagravewent to search among the medicines for some castor-oil.

Ready returned just as he came back to the tent with the bottle ofcastor-oil, and he told Ready that he was about to give Tommy a dose.

"Well, sir," replied Ready, who had a plant in his hand, "I don't thinkyou should give him any, for it appears to me that he has taken toomuch already. This is, if I recollect right, the castor-oil plant, andhere are some of the castor-oil beans which Master Tommy has beeneating. Tell me, Tommy, did you eat them?"

"Yes," cried Tommy.

"I thought so: give him a little warm drink, ma'am, and he'll soon bebetter: it will teach him not to eat berries or beans again."

What Ready said was true; nevertheless Master Tommy was very ill forthe whole of the day, and was put early to bed.

Chapter XXVI

The next day, when Mr. Seagrave, William, Juno, and Ready were all atwork at their allotted tasks, Mrs. Seagrave was sitting down at thefront of the tent, the little baby, Albert, crawling close to her,Caroline trying to work with her needle, and Tommy was making holes inthe ground, and putting a small stone into each hole.

"What are you doing, Tommy?" said Mrs. Seagrave.

"I'm making a garden," replied Tommy.

"Making a garden! Then you ought to plant some trees in it."

"No; I'm sowing seeds: look here," replied Tommy, pointing to thestones.

"But these are stones, not seeds."

"Well, but I pretend, and that's the same thing," replied Tommy.

"Not exactly, Tommy; suppose, instead of eating those beans yesterday,you had only pretended to eat them, wouldn't it have been better?"

"I won't eat any more," replied Tommy.

"No, not of those beans; but if you saw anything else which you thoughtyou would like, I am afraid you would eat it, and be as ill and evenworse than you were."

"I like cocoa-nuts; why don't we have some? there's plenty upon thetrees."

"But who is to climb up so high, Tommy? Can you?"

"No; but why don't Ready climb, or papa, or William?"

"I suppose they will get some by and by, when they are not so busy, butthey have no time now."

"I like turtle-soup," replied Tommy.

"William and Juno are making a pond to put turtle in, and then we shallhave it oftener; but we cannot have everything we like when we wish forit."

"I like fried fish," said Tommy; "why don't we have fried fish?"

"Because every one is too busy to catch them just now. Tommy, go andbring your brother Albert back; he has crawled too near to Billy, andhe butts sometimes."

Tommy went after the baby, who was crawling towards the kid, which hadnow grown pretty large, and as he took up his brother he kicked at thegoat's head.

"Don't do that, Tommy; he'll butt at you, and hurt you."

"I don't care," replied Tommy, holding the baby by one hand while hecontinued to kick at Billy. Billy, however, would not stand it; helowered his head, made a butt at Tommy, and he and Albert rolled on theground one over the other. The baby roared, and Tommy began to whimper.Mrs. Seagrave ran up to them and caught up the baby; and Tommy,alarmed, caught hold of his mother's dress for protection, lookingbehind him at Billy, who appeared inclined to renew the attack.

"Why don't you mind what is said to you, Tommy? I told you that hewould butt you," said Mrs. Seagrave, pacifying the child.

"I don't care for him," replied Tommy, who perceived that the goat waswalking away.

"No, you are very brave now that he has gone; but you're a very naughtyboy not to mind what is said to you."

"Billy never butts at me, mamma," said Caroline.

"No, my dear, because you do not tease him; but your brother is veryfond of teasing animals, and so he gets punished and frightened. It isvery wrong of him to do so, especially as he is told by his father andme that he ought not."

"You said I was a good boy when I learnt my lesson this morning,"replied Tommy.

"Yes, but you should always be good," replied his mother.

"I can't be always good," said Tommy; "I want my dinner."

"It is dinner-time, Tommy, that is certain, but you must wait untilthey all come home from their work."

"There's Ready coming, with a bag on his shoulder," replied Tommy.

Ready soon came up to where Mrs. Seagrave was sitting, and laid downthe bag. "I've brought you some young cocoa-nuts, and some old onesalso, from the trees that I have been cutting down."

"Oh! cocoa-nuts - I like cocoa-nuts!" cried Tommy.

"I told you, Tommy, that we should have some by and by, and they havecome sooner than we thought. You are very warm, Ready."

"Yes, ma'am," replied Ready, wiping his face; "it is rather warm work,for there is no breeze in the grove to cool one. Is there anything youwant from the other side of the island, for I shall go there directlyafter dinner?"

"What for?"

"I must bring the wheels to get the timber out; for I must clear itaway as I go, until the path is finished. I must have William to helpme."

"William will like the trip, I do not doubt. I do not recollectanything in particular that we want, Ready," replied Mrs. Seagrave."There he comes with Juno, and I see Mr. Seagrave has laid down hisspade; so Caroline, dear, take care of Albert, while I get the dinnerfor them."

Ready assisted Mrs. Seagrave, and the dinner was spread out on theground, for they had not brought the chairs and tables with them totheir new residence, as they thought that they could do without themtill the house was built. William reported that Juno and he would havethe turtle-pond complete by the next day. Mr. Seagrave had clearedsufficient ground to plant the half-sack of potatoes that they hadsaved, so that in a day or two they would be able to put all theirstrength upon the cutting and drawing of the timber.

After dinner, William and Ready set off in the boat, and, before it wasdark, returned with the wheels and axle of the carriage, and severalother articles to make up their load.

Chapter XXVII

"Now, William," said Ready, "if you are not very sleepy, perhaps youwould like to come with me to-night, and see if we cannot turn some ofthe turtle, for the season is going away fast, and they will leave theisland very soon."

As soon as the sun had disappeared, William and Ready went down to thebeach, and sat quietly on a rock. In a short time, Ready perceived aturtle crawling on the sand, and, desiring William to follow himwithout speaking, walked softly down by the water's edge, so as to getbetween the animal and the sea.

As soon as the turtle perceived them, it made for the water, but theymet it; and Ready, seizing hold of one of its fore-flippers, turned itover on its back.

"You see, William, that is the way to turn a turtle: take care that hedoes not catch you with his mouth, for, if he did, he would bite thepiece out. Now the animal cannot get away, for he can't turn overagain, and we shall find him here to-morrow morning; so we will nowwalk along the beach, and see if we cannot find some more."

Ready and William remained till past midnight, and turned sixteenturtle.

"I think that will do, William, for once: we have made a good night'swork of it, for we have provided food for many days. Tomorrow we mustput them all into the pond."

"How shall we carry such large animals?"

"We need not carry them; we must put some old canvas under them, andhaul them along by that means; we can easily do that on the smoothsand."

"Why don't we catch some fish, Ready? We might put them into theturtle-pond."

"They would not stay there long, William, nor could we easily get themout if they did. I have often thought of getting some lines ready, andyet the time has never come, for I feel sleepy after our day's work;but as soon as the house is built, we will have them, and you shall befisherman-in-chief."

"But the fish will bite at night, will they not?"

"Oh yes, and better than they do in the daytime."

"Well, then, if you will get me a line and show me how, I will fish foran hour or so after the work is done; I know mamma is getting tired ofsalt meat, and does not think it good for Caroline."

"Well, then, I will get a bit of candle to-morrow night, and fit up twofishing-lines. But I must go with you, William. We don't use muchcandle, at all events."

"No, we are too glad to go to bed: but there are two or three boxes ofone sort or another up in the cove."

The next morning before breakfast all hands were employed in gettingthe turtle into the pond. After breakfast, William and Juno finishedthe pond where the walls had not been raised high enough; and, whenthey returned to dinner, reported that their task was completed. Mr.Seagrave also said that he had, he thought, cleared quite ground enoughfor the present; and as Mrs. Seagrave wanted Juno to help her to washthe linen that afternoon, it was agreed that William, Ready, and Mr.Seagrave should all go down to the garden, and put in the potatoes.

Ready worked with the spade, while Mr. Seagrave and William cut thepotatoes in pieces, so as to have an eye in each piece. When they hadfinished this work, Mr. Seagrave said - "Now that we have finishedcutting the potatoes, let us go and assist Ready in planting them andthe seeds which we have brought down with us."

Chapter XXVIII

That night Ready sat up for two or three hours working by candle-light(William keeping him company), very busily engaged fitting up thefishing-lines with leads and hooks. At last two were complete.

"What bait must we use, Ready?"

"I should think that the best would be one of the fish out of theshells which are in the sand; but a piece of pork fat will, I dare say,do as well."

"And whereabouts would you fish, Ready?"

"The best place, I should think, would be at the farthermost end of thepoint, where I got the boat through the reef - the water is deep thereclose to the rocks."

"I was thinking, Ready, if those gannets and men-of-war birds would begood eating."

"Not very, William; they are very tough and very fishy: we must try forthose when we can get nothing better. Now that we have got in the seedsand potatoes, we must all set to to-morrow morning to fell and carrythe timber. I think Mr. Seagrave had better use the axe with me; andyou and Juno can, when I have shown you how, hang the timber to theaxle, and wheel it out to the place where we have decided upon buildingthe house. And now we had better go to bed."

William, however, had made up his mind to do otherwise: he knew thathis mother would be very glad to have some fish, and he determined, asthe moon shone bright, to try if he could not catch some before he wentto bed; so he waited very quietly till he thought Ready was asleep aswell as the others, and then went out with the lines, and went down tothe beach, where he picked up three or four shells, and, breaking thembetween two pieces of rock, took out the fish and baited his hooks. Hethen walked to the point. It was a beautiful night; the water was verysmooth, and the moonbeams pierced deep below the surface. William threwin his line, and as soon as the lead touched the bottom he pulled it upabout a foot, as Ready had instructed him; and he had not held his linemore than half a minute, when it was jerked so forcibly, that notexpecting it he was nearly hauled into the water; as it was, the fishwas so strong that the line slipped through his hand and scored hisfingers; but after a time he was able to pull it in, and he landed onthe beach a large silver-scaled fish, weighing nine or ten pounds. Assoon as he had dragged it so far away from the edge of the rocks as toprevent its flapping into the water again, William took out the hookand determined to try for another. His line was down as short a time asbefore, when it was again jerked with violence; but William was thistime prepared, and he let out the line and played the fish till it wastired, and then pulled it up, and found that the second fish was evenlarger than the first. Satisfied with his success, he wound up hislines, and, running a piece of string through the gills of the fish,dragged them back to the tents, and hanged them to the pole, for fearof the dogs eating them; he then went in, and was soon fast asleep. Thenext morning William was the first up, and showed his prizes with muchglee; but Ready was very much displeased with him.

"You did very wrong, William, to run the risk which you did. If youwere resolved to catch fish, why did you not tell me, and I would havegone with you? You say, yourself, that the fish nearly hauled you intothe water; suppose it had done so, or suppose a small shark instead ofone of these gropers (as we call them) had taken the bait, you musthave been jerked in; and the rocks are so steep there, that you wouldnot have been able to get out again before a shark had hold of you.Think a moment what would have been the distress of your father and theagony and despair of your poor mother, when this news should havearrived."

"I was very wrong, Ready," replied William, "now that I think of it;but I wanted to surprise and please my mother."

"That reason is almost sufficient to plead your pardon, my dear boy,"replied Ready; "but don't do so again. And now let us say no more aboutit; nobody will know that you have been in danger, and there's no harmdone; and you mustn't mind an old man scolding you a little."

"No, indeed, Ready, I do not, for I was very thoughtless; but I had noidea that there was danger."

"There's your mother coming out of her tent," replied Ready."Good-morning, madam. Do you know what William has done for you lastnight? Look, here are two beautiful fish, and very excellent eatingthey are, I can tell you."

"I am quite delighted," replied Mrs. Seagrave.

Tommy clapped his hands and danced about, crying, "Fried fish fordinner;" and Juno said, "Have very fine dinner to-day, Missy Caroline."

After breakfast they all set out for the grove, where Ready had beencutting down the trees, taking with them the wheels and axle, and acouple of stout ropes. Mr. Seagrave and Ready cut down the trees andslung them to the axle, and Juno and William dragged them to the spotwhere the house was to be built.

They were not sorry when dinner was ready, for it was very hard work.

That night, tired as they were, Ready and William went out, and turnedeight more turtle. They continued felling the cocoa-nut trees anddragging the timber for the remainder of the week, when they consideredthat they had nearly enough, and on Tuesday morning they commencedbuilding the house.

Chapter XXIX

Ready had cut out and prepared the door-posts and window-frames fromtimber which he had towed round from the cove. He now fixed four polesin the earth upright at each corner, and then, with the assistance ofMr. Seagrave, notched every log of cocoa-nut wood on both sides, whereit was to meet with the one crossing it, so that, by laying log uponlog alternately, they fitted pretty close, and had only to have thechinks between them filled in with cocoa-nut leaves twisted very tight,and forced between them: this was the work of William and Juno when nomore logs were ready for carrying; and, by degrees, the house rose upfrom its foundation. The fireplace could not be made at once, as theyhad either to find clay, or to burn shells into lime and build it upwith rocks and mortar; but a space was left for it. For three weeksthey worked very hard: as soon as the sides were up, they got on thewhole of the roof and rafters; and then, with the broad leaves of thecocoa-nut trees which had been cut down, Ready thatched it very strongand securely. At the end of the three weeks the house was secure fromthe weather; and it was quite time, for the weather had begun tochange, the clouds now gathered thick, and the rainy season wascommencing.

"We have no time to lose, sir," said Ready to Mr. Seagrave. "We haveworked hard, but we must for a few days work harder still. We must fitup the inside of the house, so as to enable Madam to get into it assoon as possible."

The earth in the inside of the house was then beaten down hard, so asto make a floor; and a sort of bedstead, about two feet from theground, running the whole length of the house, was raised on each sideof the interior: these were fitted with canvas screens to let down bynight. And then Ready and William took the last trip in the boat tofetch the chairs and tables, which they did just before the coming onof the first storm of the season. The bedding and all the utensils werenow taken into the house; and a little outhouse was built up to cookin, until the fireplace could be made.

It was late on the Saturday night that the family shifted into the newhouse; and fortunate it was that they had no further occasion fordelay, for on the Sunday the first storm burst upon them; the wind blewwith great force; and, although they were shielded from it, still thecocoa-nut trees ground and sawed each other's stems as they bent theirheads to its force. The lightning was vivid, and the thunder appalling,while the rain descended in a continual torrent. The animals left thepastures, and sheltered themselves in the grove; and, although noonday,it was so dark that they could not see to read.

"This, then, is the rainy season which you talked about, Ready," said
Mrs. Seagrave. "Is it always like this? If so, what shall we do?"

"No, madam; the sun will shine sometimes, but not for long at a time.We shall be able to get out and do something every now and then almostevery day, but still we shall have rain, perhaps, for many days withoutintermission, and we must work indoors."

"How thankful we ought to be that we have a house over our heads; weshould have been drowned in the tents."

"That I knew, madam, and therefore I was anxious to get a house overyour head; let us thank God for it."

"Indeed we ought," observed Mr. Seagrave; "and it is, indeed, time forus to read the service."

The morning service was then performed in the new house. Violent as therain was, it did not penetrate through the thatch which had been puton. Ready and William went out to secure the boat, which they wereafraid would be injured, and returned wet to the skin. The stormcontinued without intermission the whole of the night, but they sleptdry and safe; and, when awakened by the noise of the thunder and thepelting of the rain, they thanked God that they had found a dwelling inthe wilderness upon which they had been cast.

Chapter XXX

When they all rose up the next morning, the clouds had cleared off, andthe sun was shining bright. Ready and Juno were the first out of thehouse - Ready with the telescope under his arm, which he always tookwith him when he went his rounds, as he termed it, in the morning.

"Well, Juno," said Ready, "this is a fine morning after the rain."

"Yes, Massa Ready, very fine morning; but how I get fire light, andmake kittle boil for breakfast, I really don't know - stick andcocoa-nut trash all so wet."

"Before I went to bed last night, Juno, I covered up the embers withashes, put some stones over them, and then some cocoa-nut branches, soI think you will find some fire there yet. I was going my morning'sround, but I will stay a little and help you."

"Tank you, Massa Ready; plenty rain fell last night."

"Yes, not a little, Juno; you must not expect to find the water at thewell very clear this morning; indeed, I doubt if you will see the wellat all. Here's some stuff which is not very wet."

"I got plenty of fire, too," replied Juno, who had removed the branchesand stones, and was now on her knees blowing up the embers.

"You'll do very well now, Juno," said Ready; "besides, William will beout directly - so I'll leave you."

Ready whistled to the dogs, who came bounding out, and then set off onhis round of inspection. He first directed his steps to the well in theravine; but, instead of the gushing spring and the limpid clear water,with which the cask sunk for a well had been filled, there was now amuddy torrent, rushing down the ravine, and the well was covered withit, and not to be distinguished.

"I thought as much," said Ready, musing over the impetuous stream;"well, better too much water than too little." Ready waded through, ashe wished to examine the turtle-pond, which was on the other side ofthe stream. Finding all right, he again crossed the water, where it wasnow spread wide over the sandy beach, until he came to the other pointwhere he had moored his boat, both by the head and stern, with a rope,and a heavy stone made fast to it, as an anchor.

From this point, as usual, he surveyed the horizon with his telescope;not that he thought that there was a chance of a vessel arriving amongthese islands; but, still, as it was possible, he took the trouble; butnever except when he went out in the morning alone, as he was awarethat the very circumstance of his so doing would make Mr. Seagravemelancholy and unsettled. As usual, he dropped the telescope on hisarm, after his survey, saying to himself, "Little use doing that."

The gale having blown offshore, the boat had dragged her moorings, andwas so far out that Ready could not get at her.

"Here's a puzzle," said the old man; "how foolish of me not to havemade a line fast to the shore! I'll not trust myself to John Shark byswimming to the boat."

"Let me see." Ready took the halyards and sheets belonging to theboat's sails, which be had left on the beach, and bent one on to theother until he had sufficient length of rope. He then made a piece ofwood, about two feet long, fast by the middle to the end of the rope,and, after one or two attempts, contrived to throw it into the boat.The piece of wood caught under one of the thwarts, and this enabled himto draw the boat to the shore.

Having baled out the water which had fallen into her during the storm,he then landed again and examined the garden.

"Now to find the sheep and goats," said Ready, "and then my morning'swalk is over. Now, Romulus, now, Remus, boys, find them out," continuedhe; and the dogs, who appeared to know what he was in search of, wentaway in pursuit, and soon found the sheep and two of the goats, but thethird goat was not with them.

"Why, where can Black Nanny be?" muttered Ready, stopping a littlewhile; at last he heard a bleat, in a small copse of brush wood, towhich he directed his steps, followed by the dogs. "I thought as much,"said he, as be perceived Nanny lying down in the copse with twonew-born kids at her side. "Come, my little fellows, we must find someshelter for you," said he, taking one up under each arm. "Come, Nanny."

Ready walked back to the house, and brought in the kids, followed byNanny. He found Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave and the children all dressed.Caroline and Tommy gave a scream of delight when they saw the littlekids, and even little Albert clapped his hands. As soon as Ready putthem down on the ground, Tommy and Caroline had each their arms roundone.

"I've brought an addition to our family, Mrs. Seagrave," said Ready:"we must allow them to remain in the house until I can knock up alittle shelter for them. This is only a beginning; I expect we shallsoon have more."

As soon as the children could be persuaded to part with the kids, Nannywas tied up in a corner, and was very content with fondling and nursingher progeny. Juno and William brought in the breakfast, and as soon asit was over, Mr. Seagrave said, "Now, Ready, I think we must hold acouncil, and make arrangements as to our allotted duties andemployments during the rainy season. We have a great deal to do, andmust not be idle."

"Yes, sir, we have a great deal to do, and, to get through our work, wemust have order and method in our doings. I've lived long enough toknow how much can be done by regularity and discipline. Why, sir, thereis more work got out of men in a well-conducted man-of-war than therecan in the merchant service in double the time. And why so? Becauseeverything is in its place, and there is a place for everything."

"I agree with you," said Mrs. Seagrave; "method is everything. Whileone careless little girl is looking for her thimble, another will havefinished her work."

"I assure you I never should have known what can be done by order andarrangement, if I had not been pressed on board of a man-of-war. Ifound that everything was done in silence. Every man was to his post;everyone had a rope to haul upon, or a rope to let go; the boatswainpiped, and in a few seconds every sail was set or taken in as wasrequired. It seemed to me at first like magic. And you observe, Mr.Seagrave, that when there is order and discipline, every man becomes ofindividual importance. If I learnt nothing else on board of aman-of-war, I learnt to make the most of time, and the most of thestrength which you could command."

"You are very right, Ready; you must teach us to do the same," replied
Mr. Seagrave.

"We have so much to do, that I hardly know where to begin; yet, sir, wemust work at present how we can, and when we can, until we have gotthings into a little better order. We have done well up to thepresent."

"What do you think we ought to do first?"

"Well, sir, our first job will be to haul up the boat and secure herfrom harm; we will half-dock her in the sand, and cover her over, for Ido not think it will be safe to go in her now to the other side of theisland, where the sea will always be rough."

"There I perfectly agree with you. Now what is the next?"

"Why, sir, we must not leave the tents where they are, but take themdown, and as soon as they are dry, stow them away, for we may want themby and by; then, sir, we must build a large outhouse for our stores andprovisions, with a thatched roof, and a floor raised about four feetfrom the ground; and then, under the floor, the sheep and goats willhave a protection from the weather. Then there is the fish-pond tomake, and also a salt-pan to cut out of the rock. Then we have two morelong jobs. One is, to go through the woods and examine the stores wehave left on the other side of the island, sort and arrange them allready for bringing here after the rains are over; and we must alsoexplore the island a little, and find out what it produces; for atpresent we know nothing of it: we may find a great many things usefulto us, a great many trees and fruits, and I hope and trust we may beable to find some more grass for our live stock."

"I agree with you in all you say, Ready," replied Mr. Seagrave; "nowhow shall we divide our strength?"

"We will not divide at present, sir, if you please. Juno has plenty todo indoors with Mrs. Seagrave; William, and you, and I, will firstsecure the boat and stow away the tents and gear; after that, we willset about the outbuilding, and work at it when we can. If Juno has anytime to spare, she had better collect the cocoa-nut leaves, and pilethem up for fuel; and Tommy will, I dare say, go with her, and show herhow to draw them along."

"Yes, I'll show her," said Tommy, getting on his feet.

"Not just now, Tommy," said Ready, "but as soon as your mamma can spareher to go with you. Come, sir, a few hours of weather like this is notto be lost," continued Ready; "we shall have more rain before the dayis over, I expect. I will first go to the tent for the shovels; then Iwill haul the boat round to the beach and meet you there. You andWilliam can take some cord, tie up a large bundle of cocoa-nut boughs,sling it to the wheels, and draw it down to the beach and meet me."

Chapter XXXI

As so many cocoa-nut trees had been cut down to build the house, therewere plenty of boughs lying in every direction, and William and Mr.Seagrave had soon procured sufficient. In a very short time the boatwas drawn up about ten yards from the water's edge, which Ready saidwas quite sufficient; they then dug from under with their shovels untilthe boat was sunk about half down in the sand.

Having filled in the sand all round her up to her gunnel, the boat wasthen carefully covered over with the boughs, which were weighed downwith sand that they might not be blown away.

"I don't see why you should cover the boat up in this way, Ready; therain won't hurt her," observed William.

"No, sir, the rain won't do her any harm, but the sun will, when itbursts out occasionally; for it's very powerful when it does shine, andit would split her all to pieces."

"I forgot that," replied William. "What shall we do now?"

"Suppose, as we have two hours to dinner-time, you run for the lines,
William, and we'll try for some fish."

"We cannot all three of us fish with only two lines," said Mr.
Seagrave.

"No, sir; and as William knows how to catch them, suppose you remainwith him, and I will go up and collect wood and chips for Juno's fire.She was hard pressed for it this morning, it was so wet; but, if oncepiled up, it will soon be dry. Be careful, Mr. Seagrave, not to holdthe lines tight in your hands, or you may be jerked into the water."

Mr. Seagrave and William were very fortunate; before the two hours wereexpired they had caught eight large fish, which they brought up to thehouse slung on the boat-hook. Tommy hallooed loudly for fish fordinner, and as they had caught so many, it was agreed that the dinnershould be put off until some could be got ready, and they were notsorry to eat them instead of salt pork.

They had hardly sat down to table, when the rain came pattering down onthe roof, and in a quarter of an hour the storm was as violent, and thethunder and lightning as terrific as on the day before. All outdoorlabour was again suspended. Mrs. Seagrave, Juno, and Caroline tooktheir work, for there was plenty to do with the needle and thread, andReady soon found employment for the rest. William and Mr. Seagraveunlaid some thick rope, that Ready might make smaller and more usefulrope with the yarns. Ready took up his sailing needles, and workedeyelet-holes in the canvas screens (which they had put up in a hurry),so that they might be drawn to and fro as required.

As soon as Ready had hung up the curtains, he looked under thebedsteads for a large bundle, and said, as he opened it, "I shall nowdecorate Madam Seagrave's sleeping-place. It ought to be handsomer thanthe others." The bundle was composed of the ship's ensign, which wasred, and a large, square, yellow flag with the name of the ship Pacificin large black letters upon it. These two flags Ready festooned andtied up round the bed-place, so as to give it a very gay appearance,and also to hide the rough walls of the cottage.

"Indeed, Ready, I am much obliged to you," said Mrs. Seagrave, when hehad finished; "it is really quite grand for this place."

"It's the best use we can put them to now, madam," said Ready.

"I am afraid so," replied Mr. Seagrave, thoughtfully.

"Ready," said William, after the candles were lighted, "you oncehalf-promised me that you would tell me your history; I wish you wouldtell us some of it now, as it will pass away the evening."

"Well, William, I did say so, and I shall keep my word. When you haveheard my story, you will say that I have been very foolish in my time;and so I have; but if it proves a warning to you, it will, at allevents, be of some use."

Ready then commenced his history as follows:

History of Old Ready.

"Of course, you wish to know who my father and mother were: that issoon told. My father was the captain of a merchant vessel, which tradedfrom South Shields to Hamburg, and my poor mother, God bless her, wasthe daughter of a half-pay militia captain, who died about two monthsafter their marriage. The property which the old gentleman hadbequeathed to my mother was added to that which my father had alreadyvested in the brig, and he then owned one-third of the vessel; theother two-thirds were the property of a very rich ship-builder andowner, of the name of Masterman. What with the profits of the share heheld of the vessel and his pay as captain, my father was well to do.Mr. Masterman, who had a very high opinion of my father, and gainedmuch money by his exertions and good management, was present at themarriage, and when I was born, about a year afterwards, he stood for meas godfather. Every one considered that this was a most advantageouscircumstance for me, and congratulated my father and mother; for Mr.Masterman was a bachelor, of nearly sixty years, without any nearrelations. It is true, that he was very fond of money; but that, theysaid, was all the better, as he could not take it away with him when hedied. An end, however, was soon put to all their worldly ideas, for ayear after I was born, my father was drowned at sea, his vessel and thewhole of her crew being lost on the Texel sands; and my mother foundherself a widow, with a child scarcely weaned, when she was buttwenty-two years of age.

"It was supposed that my mother would still have sufficient to liveupon, as the ship had been insured at two-thirds of her value; but, tothe astonishment of everybody, Mr. Masterman contrived to make itappear that it was his two-thirds of the vessel which had beeninsured."

"What is insurance?" inquired William.

"Insurance, my dear boy, is paying a certain sum to people who arecalled underwriters, that in case the vessel or cargo is lost ordamaged, the loss or damage is made good to the owners of the vessel orcargo. You pay in proportion to the risk incurred. Supposing you wishedto insure one thousand pounds on a vessel or cargo, and ten per centwas required, you would, if the vessel came home safe, pay theunderwriters one hundred pounds; if, on the contrary, the vessel waslost, the underwriters would have to pay you one thousand pounds, thesum which you had insured. I beg your pardon for the interruption,Ready."

"No need, Mr. Seagrave; we never should lose an opportunity of teachingthe young. Well, how far the assertion of Mr. Masterman was correct ornot, it was impossible at the time to say; but I do know that everybodycried out `shame', and that if he did deprive the widow, he had much toanswer for; for the Bible says, `Pure religion is to visit thefatherless and the widows in their affliction, and to keep yourselfunspotted in the world'. The consequence was, that my mother had littleor nothing to live upon; but she found friends who assisted her, andshe worked embroidery, and contrived to get on somehow until I waseight or nine years of age."

"But did not your godfather come forward to the assistance of yourmother?" inquired Mr. Seagrave.

"No, sir, strange to say, he did not; and that made people talk themore. I believe it was the abuse of him, which he did not fail to hear,and which he ascribed to my mother, which turned him away from us;perhaps it was his own conscience, for we always dislike those we haveinjured."

"Unfortunately, there is great truth in that remark of yours, Ready,"observed Mr. Seagrave; "still, it is strange that he did not dosomething."

"It was very strange, sir, - at least, so it appeared at the time, buthe was very fond of money, and irritated at the reports andobservations which were made about him. But, to go on, sir, I was astrong, hardy boy, and, whenever I could escape from my mother orschool, was always found by the water-side or on board of the vessels.In the summer-time I was half the day in water, and was a very goodswimmer. My mother perceived my fondness for the profession, and triedall she could to divert my thoughts some other way. She told me of thedangers and hardships which sailors went through, and always ended withmy father's death and a flood of tears.

"We certainly are of a perverse nature, as I have often heard theclergyman say, for it appears to me that we always wish to do thatwhich we are told not to do. If my mother had not been alwayspersuading me against going to sea, I really believe I might havestayed at home. I've often thought since, how selfish and unfeeling Imust have been. I was too young to know what pain I was giving mymother, and how anxiety was preying upon her, all on my account.Children cannot feel it; if they did, they would do otherwise, for ourhearts are seldom hard until we grow older."

"I agree with you, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave. "If children really knewhow much their parents suffer when they behave ill, how alarmed theyare at any proofs of wickedness in them, they would be much better."

"We never find that out, sir, till it is too late," continued Ready."Well, sir, I was little more than nine years old, when, on a verywindy day, and the water rough, a hawser, by which a vessel was fast tothe wharf, was carried away with a violent jerk, and the broken part,as it flew out, struck a person who was at the edge of the wharf, andknocked him into the sea. I heard the crying out, and the men from thewharf and from the ships were throwing ropes to him, but he could notcatch hold of them; indeed, he could not swim well, and the water wasrough. I caught a rope that had been hauled in again, and leapt off thewharf.

"Young as I was, I swam like a duck, and put the rope into his handsjust as he was going down. He clung to it as drowning men only cancling, and was hauled to the piles, and soon afterwards a boat, whichhad been lowered from the stern of one of the vessels, picked us bothup. We were taken to a public-house, and put into bed till dry clothescould be sent for us; and then I found that the person I had saved wasmy godfather, Mr. Masterman. Everyone was loud in my praise; and,although perhaps I ought not to say it, it was a bold act for so younga boy as I was. The sailors took me home to my mother in a sort oftriumphal procession; and she, poor thing, when she heard what I haddone, embraced me over and over again, one moment rejoicing at mypreservation, and the next weeping bitterly at the thoughts of thedanger I had encountered, and the probability that my bold spirit wouldlead me into still greater."

"But she did not blame you for what you had done?"

"Oh no, William; she felt that I had done my duty towards my neighbour,and perhaps she felt in her own heart that I had returned good forevil; but she did not say so. The next day Mr. Masterman called uponus; he certainly looked very foolish and confused when he asked for hisgodson, whom he had so long neglected. My mother, who felt how usefulhe might be to me, received him very kindly; but I had been often toldof his neglect of me and my mother, and of his supposed unfair conducttowards my father, and had taken a violent dislike to him; his advancestowards me were therefore very coolly received. I felt glad that I hadsaved him; but although I could not exactly understand my own feelingsat the time, I am ashamed to say that my pleasure was not derived fromhaving done a good action, so much as indulging a feeling of revenge inhaving put one under an obligation who had treated me ill; this arosefrom my proud spirit, which my mother could not check. So you see,William, there was very little merit in what I had done, as, after Ihad done it, I indulged those feelings which I ought to have checked."

"I think I could not have helped feeling the same, Ready, under suchcircumstances," replied William.

"The impulse which induced me to act was good," replied Ready; "but thefeeling which I indulged in afterwards took away the whole merit of thedeed. I am stating what I believe to be the truth; and an old man likeme can look upon the past without bias, but not without regret. Mr.Masterman made but a short visit; he told my mother that he would nowtake care of me and bring me up to the business of a ship-builder assoon as I was old enough to leave school, and that in the meantime hewould pay all my expenses. My poor mother was very grateful, and shedtears of joy; and when Mr. Masterman went away, she embraced me, andsaid that now she was happy, as I should have a profession on shore andnot go to sea. I must do justice to Mr. Masterman; he kept his word andsent money to my mother, so that she became quite cheerful andcomfortable, and everyone congratulated her, and she used to fondle me,and say, it was all through me that she was relieved from herdistress."

"How happy that must have made you, Ready!" said William.

"Yes, it did, but it made me also very proud. Strange to say, I couldnot conquer my dislike to Mr. Masterman; I had nourished the feelingtoo long. I could not bear that my mother should be under obligationsto him, or that he should pay for my schooling; it hurt my foolishpride, young as I then was; and although my mother was happy, I wasnot. Besides, as I was put to a better school, and was obliged toremain with the other boys, I could no longer run about the wharfs, orgo on board the vessels, as before. I did not see then, as I do now,that it was all for my good but I became discontented and unhappy,merely because I was obliged to pay attention to my learning, and couldno longer have my own way. The master complained of me; and Mr.Masterman called and scolded me well. I became more disobedient, andthen I was punished. This irritated me, and I made up my mind that Iwould run away to sea. You see, William, I was all in the wrong; and sowill all boys be who think they know better than those who have chargeof them; and now only see what I probably lost by my foolish conduct. Isay <i>probably</i>, for no one can calculate or foresee what is totake place; but, as far as appearances went, I had every prospect ofreceiving a good education - of succeeding Mr. Masterman in hisbusiness, and, very probably, of inheriting his large fortune; so thatI might have been at this time a rich and well-educated man, surroundedwith all the comforts and luxuries of life; perhaps with an amiablewife and large family round me, to make me still happier, instead ofbeing what I now am, a poor, worn-out old seaman upon a desert isle. Ipoint this out to you, William, to show how one false and foolish stepin the young may affect their whole prospects in life; and, instead ofenabling them to sail down with the stream of prosperity, may leavethem to struggle against the current of adversity, as has been the casewith me."

"It is, indeed, a good lesson, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave.

"It is; not that I repine at my lot, even while I regret the errorsthat led to it. An all-wise and gracious God disposes of us as hethinks best; and I can now say with perfect sincerity, `Thy will, notmine, be done'."

"Your misfortunes have, however, proved an incalculable benefit to us,Ready," observed Mrs. Seagrave; "for had you not gone to sea, and beenon board the ship when the crew deserted us, what would have become ofus?"

"Well, madam, it is some comfort to think that a worn-out old seamanlike myself has been of some use."

Chapter XXXII

The bleating of the kids woke them the next morning earlier than usual.The weather was again fine, and the sun shining brightly, and Readyturned out Nanny and her progeny. They had an excellent breakfast offried fish, and then Mr. Seagrave, Ready, and William went out to theirwork: the two first took down the tents, and spread the canvas on theground, that it might be well dried, while William went in pursuit ofthe fowls, which had not been seen for a day or two. Afterhalf-an-hour's search in the cocoa-nut grove, he heard the cock crow,and soon afterwards found them all. He threw them some split peas,which he had brought with him. They were hungry enough and followed himhome to the house, where he left them and went to join Ready and hisfather.

"William," said Ready, "I think, now that we have spread out the tents,we will, if Mr. Seagrave approves, all set to at once and knock up afowl-house; it won't be more than a day's job, and then the creatureswill have a home. There are four very thick cocoa-nut trees close tothe house; we will build it under them; it will be a good job over."Mr. Seagrave assented, and they set immediately to work. There weremany thin poles left, the tops of the cocoa-nut trees which had beencut down to build the house; these they nailed to the trunks of thefour trees, so as to make a square, and then they ran up rafters for apitched roof.

"Now, sir, this is only rough work; we will first put up a perch or twofor them, and then close in the side, and thatch the roof withcocoa-nut branches; but there's Juno taking in the dinner, so we'llfinish it afterwards."

After their meal the work was renewed; Mr. Seagrave collected thebranches while William and Ready worked upon the sides and roof, andbefore the evening closed in, the fowl-house was complete. Williamenticed the fowls down to it with some more split peas, and then walkedaway.

"Now, sir, the creatures will soon find their way in; and by and by,when I have time, I'll make a door to the entrance."

"And now," said William, "I think we had better roll up the canvas ofthe tents; we have had a splendid day, and may not be so fortunateto-morrow."

"Very true; we will get them housed, and stow them away under thebed-places; there is plenty of room." By the time that they had foldedup the canvas, and William had brought in Nanny and the kids, the sunhad set, and they went into the house. Ready was requested to go onwith his history, which he did as follows:—

"I said last night that I determined to run away from school and go tosea, but I did not tell you how I managed it. I had no chance ofgetting out of the school unperceived, except after the boys were allput to bed. The room that I slept in was at the top of the house - thedoors I knew were all locked; but there was a trap-door which led outon the roof, fastened by a bolt inside, and a ladder leading up to it;and I determined that I would make my escape by that way. As soon asall the other boys were fast asleep, I arose and dressed myself veryquietly, and then left the room.

"The moon shone bright, which was lucky for me, and I gained thetrap-door without any noise. I had some difficulty in forcing it up, asit was heavy for a boy of my age; but I contrived to do so at last, andgained the roof of the house. I then began looking about me, to see howI was to get to the ground, and after walking to and fro several times,I decided that I could slip down by a large water-pipe; it was so fardetached from the bricks, that I could get my small fingers round it. Iclimbed over the parapet, and, clinging to the pipe firmly with myhands and knees, I slid down, and arrived at the bottom in safety."

"It's a wonder you did not break your neck, Ready," observed Mrs.
Seagrave.

"It was, indeed, ma'am. As soon as I was landed in the flowerbed, whichwas below, I hastened to the iron gates at the entrance, and soonclimbed up and got to the other side into the road. I started as fastas I could towards the port, and when I arrived at the wharf, Iperceived that a vessel had her topsails loose, and meant to takeadvantage of the ebb-tide which had just made; the men were singing `Yoheave yo', getting the anchor up; and as I stood watching, almostmaking up my mind that I would swim off to her, I perceived that a manpushed off in her jolly-boat, and was sculling to a post a littlehigher up, where a hawser had been made fast; I ran round, and arrivedthere before he had cast off the rope; without saying a word, I jumpedinto the boat.

"`What do you want, youngster?' said the seaman.

"`I want to go to sea,' said I, breathless; `take me on board - praydo.'

"`Well,' said he, `I heard the captain say he wanted an apprentice, andso you may come.'

"He sculled the boat back again to the vessel, and I climbed up herside.

"`Who are you?' said the captain.

"I told him that I wanted to go to sea.

"`You are too little and too young.'

"`No, I am not,' replied I.

"`Why, do you think that you dare go aloft?'

"`I'll show you,' replied I; and I ran up the rigging like a cat, andwent out at the topgallant yard-arm.

"When I came down, the captain said, `Well, I think you'll make a sharpseaman by and by; so I'll take you, and, as soon as I get to London,I'll bind you apprentice.'

"The ship, which was a collier, was soon out of port, and before theday had dawned I found myself on the wide ocean, which was hereafter tobe my home.

"As soon as the hurry and confusion were over, I was examined by thecaptain, who appeared to me to be a very rough, harsh man; indeed,before the day was over I almost repented of the step which I hadtaken, and when I sat down cold and wet upon some old sail at night,the thoughts of my mother, and what distress I should occasion her, forthe first time rushed into my mind, and I wept bitterly; but it was toolate then. I have often thought, Mr. Seagrave, that the life ofhardship which I have since gone through has been a judgment on me formy cruelty to my mother, in leaving her the way I did. It broke herheart; a poor return, William, for all her care and kindness! Godforgive me!"

Old Ready left off for some little time, and the remainder of the partykept silence. Then he said - "I'll leave off now, if you please: Idon't feel inclined to go on; my heart is full when I recall thatfoolish and wicked deed of mine."

Chapter XXXIII

The next morning was fine, and as soon as breakfast was over, they tookthe wheels down to the turtle-pond, and Ready having speared one of thelargest by means of a pike with a barb to it, which he had made onpurpose, they hauled it on shore, slung it under the wheels, and tookit up to the house. Having killed the turtle, and cut it up, Juno,under the directions of Ready, chose such portions as were required forthe soup; and when the pot was on the fire, Ready, Mr. Seagrave, andWilliam set off with the cross-cut saw and hatchets, to commencefelling the cocoa-nut trees for the building of the outhouse, which wasto hold their stores, as soon as they could be brought round from theother side of the island.

"I mean this to be our place of refuge in case of danger, sir,"observed Ready; "and therefore I have selected this thick part of thewood, as it is not very far from the house, and by cutting the path toit in a zigzag, it will be quite hidden from sight; and we must makethe path just wide enough to allow the wheels to pass, and stump up theroots of the trees which we are obliged to cut down, otherwise thestumps would attract attention."

"I agree with you, Ready," replied Mr. Seagrave; "there is no sayingwhat may happen."

"You see, sir, it is often the custom for the natives, in this part ofthe world, to come in their canoes from one island to another, merelyto get cocoa-nuts. I can't say that the other islands near us areinhabited, but still it is probable, and we cannot tell what thecharacter of the people may be. I tell you this, but we had better notsay a word to Mrs. Seagrave, as it may distress her."

Mr. Seagrave agreed, and Ready continued:

"We are now near the spot, sir. You see, when we have got over thishill, where the trees are so very thick, the fall in the ground willassist in the concealment of the building. I should say we are verynear right where we now stand."

"How far are we now from the house? We must not be too distant."

"I reckon we are not 150 yards in a straight line, although the roadwill, by its turning, make it double the distance."

"Then I think this spot will do very well."

"I'll just mark out the trees which are to stand, Mr. Seagrave, andthose which are to be cut down, so as to leave about four feet of stumpstanding."

As soon as they had planned the building, the axes and saw were in fulluse, and tree after tree fell one upon the other. They worked hard tilldinner-time, and were not sorry at the prospect of sitting down to arich mess of turtle-soup.

"My dear William, and you too, Mr. Seagrave, how very warm you are!"said Mrs. Seagrave; "you must not work so hard."

"Cutting down trees is very warm work, mother," replied William, "andhard work will never hurt any one, especially when he dines offturtle-soup. Why, Tommy, what's the matter with you?"

"Tommy and I are at variance," replied Mrs. Seagrave. "I had my thimblethis morning, and had commenced my sewing, when I was called out byJuno, and Caroline went with me, and Tommy was left in the house. WhenI came back I found him outside, and on going back to my work, therewas no thimble to be found; I asked him if he had touched it, and hisanswer was that he would look for it. He did look, and said he couldnot find it; I have asked him several times if he took it away, and hisonly answer is that he will find it by and by."

"Tommy, did you take the thimble?" said Mr. Seagrave, gravely.

"I'll find it by and by, papa."

"That's not an answer. Did you take the thimble?"

"I'll find it by and by, papa," said Tommy, whimpering.

"That's all the answer he will give me," said Mrs. Seagrave.

"Well, then, he shall have no dinner till the thimble makes itsappearance," replied Mr. Seagrave.

Master Tommy began to cry at this intelligence. Juno appeared with theturtle-soup; and Tommy cried louder when they had said grace andcommenced their dinner. They were all very hungry, and William sent hisplate for another portion, which he had not commenced long before heput his finger in his mouth and pulled out something.

"Why, mother, here's the thimble in my soup," cried William.

"No wonder he said he would find it by and by," said Ready, smiling;"he meant to have fished it up, I suppose, from what was left of thesoup after dinner. Well, Mrs. Seagrave, I don't mean to say that Tommyis a good boy, but still, although be would not tell where the thimblewas, he has not told a falsehood about it."

"No, he has not," replied William. "I think, now that the thimble isfound, if he begs pardon, papa will forgive him."

"Tommy, come here," said Mr. Seagrave. "Tell me why you put thatthimble into the soup?"

"I wanted to taste the soup. I wanted to fill the thimble; the soupburnt my fingers, and I let the thimble drop in."

"Well, a thimbleful wasn't much, at all events," observed Ready. "Andwhy didn't you tell your mamma where the thimble was?"

"I was afraid mamma throw all the soup away, and then I get none fordinner."

"Oh! that was it, was it? Well, sir, I said you should have no dinnertill the thimble was found, so, as it is found, you may have yourdinner; but if you ever refuse to answer a question again, I shallpunish you more severely."

Tommy was glad the lecture was over, and more glad to get histurtle-soup; he finished one plate, and, as he asked for another, hesaid, "Tommy won't put thimble in again; put tin pot in next time."

After dinner they went to their work again, and did not come in againtill sunset.

"The clouds are gathering fast, sir," observed Ready; "we shall haverain to-night."

"I fear we shall; but we must expect it now, Ready."

"Yes, sir; and by and by we shall have it for days together."

"Ready," said Mrs. Seagrave, "if you are not too tired, perhaps youwill go on with your history."

"Certainly, ma'am, if you wish it," replied Ready. "When I left off, Iwas on board of the collier, bound to London. We had a very fair wind,and a quick passage. I was very sick until we arrived in the Nore, andthen I recovered, and, as you may suppose, was astonished at the busyscene, and the quantity of vessels which were going up and down theriver. But I did not like my captain; he was very severe and brutal tothe men; and the apprentice who was on board told me to run away, andget into another vessel, and not to bind myself apprentice to thiscaptain, or I should be beat all day long, and be treated as bad as hewas. I knew this was the case, as the captain kicked and cuffed himtwenty times a day. The men said that he did not do so to me, for fearI should refuse to be his apprentice; but that, as soon as myindentures were signed, he would treat me in the same way.

"Well, I made up my mind that I would not remain in the collier; and,as the captain had gone on shore, I had plenty of time to look aboutme. There was a large ship, which was ready to sail, lying in thestream; I spoke to two boys who were at the stairs in her boat, andthey told me that they were very comfortable on board, and that thecaptain wanted two or three apprentices. I went on board with them, andoffered myself. The captain asked me a great many questions, and I toldhim the truth, and why I did not like to remain in the collier. Heagreed to take me; and I went on shore with him, signed my indentures,and received from him a sufficient supply of clothes; and, two daysafterwards, we sailed for Bombay and China."

"But you wrote to your mother, Ready, did you not?" said William.

"Yes, I did; for the captain desired me to do so, and he put a fewlines at the bottom to comfort her; but, unfortunately, the letter,which was sent on shore by the cook, never arrived. Whether he droppedit, or forgot it till after the ship sailed, and then tore it up, I donot know; but, as I found out afterwards, it never did get to herhands."

"It was not your fault that the letter did not arrive safe," said Mrs.
Seagrave.

"No, madam, that was not my fault; the fault had been committedbefore."

"Don't dwell any more upon that portion of your history, Ready; buttell us what took place after you sailed for the East Indies."

"Be it so, if you please. I certainly was very smart and active for myage, and soon became a great favourite on board, especially with thelady passengers, because I was such a little fellow. We arrived safelyat Bombay, where our passengers went on shore, and in three weeksafterwards we sailed down the straits for China. It was war time, andwe were very often chased by French privateers; but as we had a goodcrew and plenty of guns, none of them ventured to attack us, and we gotsafe to Macao, where we unloaded our cargo and took in teas. We had towait some time for a convoy, and then sailed for England. When we wereoff the Isle of France, the convoy was dispersed in a gale; and threedays afterwards, a French frigate bore down upon us, and afterexchanging a few broadsides, we were compelled to haul down ourcolours. A lieutenant was sent on board with forty men to take chargeof us, for we were a very rich prize to them. The captain and most ofthe crew were taken on board of the frigate, but ten Lascars and theboys were left in the Indiaman, to assist in taking her into the Isleof France, which was at that time in the hands of the French. I thoughtit hard that I was to go to prison at twelve years old; but I did notcare much about it, and very soon I was as gay and merry as ever. Wehad made the island, and were on a wind beating up to the port, when avessel was seen to windward, and although I could not understand whatthe Frenchmen said, I perceived that they were in a great fluster andvery busy with their spy-glasses, and Jack Romer, one of my brother'prentices who had been three years at sea, said to me, `I don't thinkwe'll go to prison after all, Ready, for that vessel is an Englishman-of-war, if I'm not mistaken.' At last she came down within threemiles of us, and hoisted English colours and fired a gun. The Frenchmenput the ship before the wind, but it was of no use; the man-of-war cameup with us very fast, and then the Frenchmen began to pack up theirclothes, together with all the other things which they had collectedout of the property of our captain and crew; a shot was fired whichwent clean over our heads, and then they left the helm, and Jack Romerwent to it, and, with my help, hove the ship up in the wind; a boatcame on board and took possession, and so there was one escape, at allevents.

"They sent a midshipman as prize-master on board of the vessel, andleft all us, who had been taken prisoners by the French, in the vessel,to help to work her into port, as the captain did not wish to part withany more men of his own than was necessary. We soon made sail forEngland, quite delighted at having escaped a French prison, but, afterall, we only exchanged it for a Dutch one."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean that, two days afterwards, as we were rounding the Cape,another French vessel bore down upon us, and captured us. This time wedid not find any friend in need, and were taken into Table Bay; for atthat time the Cape of Good Hope was in the possession of the Dutch,who, as well as the French, were at war with England."

"How very unfortunate you were, Ready!" said Mrs. Seagrave.

"Yes, madam, we were, and I can't say much in favour of a Dutch prison.However, I was very young at that time, and did not care much - I had alight heart."

Chapter XXXIV

A heavy storm came on soon after they had retired to rest; thelightning was so vivid that its flashes penetrated through the chinksof the door and windows, and the thunder burst upon them with a noisewhich prevented them obtaining any sleep. The children cried andtrembled as they lay in the arms of Mrs. Seagrave and Juno, who werealmost as much alarmed themselves.

"This is very awful," said Mr. Seagrave to Ready, for they had bothrisen from their beds.

"It is indeed, sir; I never knew a more terrible storm than this."

"Merciful Heaven!" exclaimed Mr. Seagrave.

As he spoke, they were both thrown back half-stunned; a crash ofthunder burst over the house, which shook everything in it; asulphurous smell pervaded the building, and soon afterwards, when theyrecovered their feet, they perceived that the house was full of smoke,and they heard the wailing of the women and the shrieks of the childrenin the bed-places on the other side.

"God have mercy on us!" exclaimed Ready, who was the first to recoverhimself, and who now attempted to ascertain the injury which had beendone: "the lightning has struck us, and I fear that the house is onfire somewhere."

"My wife - my children!" exclaimed Mr. Seagrave; "are they all safe?"

"Yes, yes!" cried Mrs. Seagrave, "all safe; Tommy has come to me; butwhere is Juno? Juno!"

Juno answered not. William darted to the other side of the house, andfound Juno lying on her side, motionless.

"She is dead, father," cried William.

"Help me to carry her out of the house, Mr. Seagrave," said Ready, whohad lifted up the poor girl; "she may be only stunned."

They carried Juno out of the house, and laid her on the ground; therain poured down in torrents.

Ready left them for a minute, to ascertain if the house was on fire; hefound that it had been in flames at the further corner, but the rainhad extinguished it. He then went back to Mr. Seagrave and William, whowere with Juno.

"I will attend to the girl, sir," said Ready; "go you and MasterWilliam into the house; Mrs. Seagrave will be too much frightened ifshe is left alone at such an awful time. See, sir! Juno is not dead -her chest heaves - she will come to very soon; thank God for it!"

William and Mr. Seagrave returned to the house; they found Mrs.Seagrave fainting with anxiety and fear. The information they brought,that Juno was not killed by the lightning, did much to restore her.William soothed little Albert, and Tommy in a few minutes was fastasleep again in his father's arms. The storm now abated, and as the daybegan to break, Ready appeared with Juno, who was sufficientlyrecovered to he able to walk in with his support; she was put into herbed, and then Ready and Mr. Seagrave went to examine if furthermischief had been done. The lightning had come in at the further end ofthe house, at the part where the fireplace was intended to have beenmade.

"We have been most mercifully preserved," said Mr. Seagrave.

"Yes, sir, thanks be to God for all his goodness," replied Ready.

"I think we have a large roll of copper wire, Ready; have we not?" said
Mr. Seagrave.

"Yes, sir, I was just thinking of it myself; we will have alightning-conductor up the first thing."

It was now broad daylight. Mrs. Seagrave dressed herself and thechildren, and as soon as she was ready, Mr. Seagrave read such portionsof the Psalms as were appropriate, and they earnestly joined in aprayer of thankfulness and humility. William went out to prepare thebreakfast, and Ready procured the coil of copper wire from those storeswhich were stowed under the bed-places. This he unrolled, and stretchedit out straight, and then went for the ladder, which was at theouthouse they had commenced building. As soon as breakfast was over,Ready and Mr. Seagrave went out again to fix up thelightning-conductor, leaving William to do the work of Juno, who stillremained fast asleep in her bed.

"I think," said Ready, "that one of those two trees which are closetogether will suit the best; they are not too near the house, and yetquite near enough for the wire to attract the lightning."

"I agree with you, Ready; but we must not leave both standing."

"No, sir, but we shall require them both to get up and fix the wire;after that we will cut down the other."

Ready put his ladder against one of the trees, and, taking with him thehammer and a bag of large spike-nails, drove one of the nails into thetrunk of the tree till it was deep enough in to bear his weight; hethen drove in another above it, and so he continued to do, standingupon one of them while he drove in another above, till he had reachedthe top of the tree, close to the boughs; he then descended, and,leaving the hammer behind him, took up a saw and small axe, and inabout ten minutes he had cut off the head of the cocoa-nut tree, whichremained a tall, bare pole.

"Take care, Ready, how you come down," said Mr. Seagrave anxiously.

"Never fear, sir," replied Ready; "I'm not so young as I was, but Ihave been too often at the mast-head, much higher than this."

Ready came down again, and then cut down a small pole, to fix with athick piece of pointed wire at the top of it, on the head of thecocoa-nut tree. He then went up, lashed the small pole to the head ofthe tree, made the end of the copper wire fast to the pointed wire, andthen he descended. The other tree near to it was then cut down, and thelower end of the wire buried in the ground at the bottom of the tree onwhich the lightning-conductor had been fixed.

"That's a good job done, sir," said Ready, wiping his face, for he waswarm with the work.

"Yes," replied Mr. Seagrave; "and we must put up another near theouthouse, or we may lose our stores."

"Very true, sir."

"You understand this, William, don't you?" said his father.

"O yes, papa; lightning is attracted by metal, and will now strike thepoint instead of the house, run down the wire, and only tear up theground below."

"It's coming on again, sir, as thick as ever," observed the old man;"we shall do no work to-day, I'm afraid. I'll just go and see where thestock are."

Juno was now up again, and said that she was quite well, with theexception of a headache. As Ready had predicted, the rain now came onagain with great violence, and it was impossible to do any work out ofdoors. At the request of William he continued his narrative.

Narrative of Old Ready.

"Well, William, as soon as they had let go their anchor in Table Bay,we were all ordered on shore, and sent up to a prison close to theGovernment Gardens. We were not very carefully watched, as it appearedimpossible for us to get away, and I must say we were well treated inevery respect; but we were told that we should be sent to Holland inthe first man-of-war which came into the bay, and we did not much likethe idea.

"There were, as I told you, some other boys as well as myself, whobelonged to the Indiaman, and we kept very much together, not onlybecause we were more of an age, but because we had been shipmates solong. Two of these boys, one of whom I have mentioned as Jack Romer,and the other Will Hastings, were my particular friends; and one day,as we were sitting under the wall warming ourselves, for it was wintertime, Romer said, `How very easy it would be for us to get away, if weonly knew where to go to!'

"`Yes,' replied Hastings; `but where are we to go to, if it is not tothe Hottentots and wild savages; and when we get there, what can we do?- we can't get any further.' `Well,' said I, `I would rather be livingfree among savages, than be shut up in a prison.' That was our firsttalk on the subject, but we had many others afterwards; and as the oneor two Dutch soldiers who stood sentry spoke English, and we could talka little Dutch, we obtained a good deal of information from them; forthey had very often been sent to the frontiers of the colony. Wecontinued to ask questions, and to talk among ourselves for about twomonths, and at last we resolved that we would make our escape. Weshould have done much better if we had remained where we were; butthere is no putting old heads upon young shoulders. We saved up ourprovisions, bought some long Dutch knives, tied our few clothes up inbundles, and one dark night we contrived to remain in the yard withoutbeing perceived, when the prisoners were locked up; and raising a longpole, which lay in the yard, to the top of the wall, with a good dealof scrambling we contrived to get over it, and made off as fast as wecould for the Table Mountain."

"What was your reason for going there, Ready?"

"Why, Hastings, who was the oldest, and, I will say, the sharpest ofthe three, said that we had better stay up there for a few days, tillwe had made up our minds what to do, and try if we could not procure amusket or two, and ammunition; for, you see, we had money, as, when theIndiaman was first taken, the captain divided a keg of rupees, whichwas on board, among the officers and men, in proportion to the wagesdue to them, thinking it was better for the crew to have the money thanto leave it for the Frenchmen; and we had spent very little while inprison. There was also another reason why he persuaded us to go to theTable Mountain, which was, that as soon as our escape was found out,they would send parties to look for us; thinking, of course, that wehad made for the interior; and we should have less chance of beingretaken if we travelled after the first search was over. The soldiershad told us of the lions, and other wild animals, and how dangerous itwas to travel, and Hastings said, that not finding us, they wouldsuppose we had been destroyed by the wild beasts, and would not lookfor us any more."

"Foolish indeed," observed Mrs. Seagrave, "to set off you knew notwhere, in a country full of wild beasts and savages."

"True enough, madam," replied Ready. "We ran at first until we were outof breath, and then we walked on as fast as we could - not going rightup the mountain, but keeping a slanting direction to the south-west, soas to get away from the town, and more towards False Bay.

"We had walked about four hours, and began to feel very tired, when theday dawned, and then we looked out for a place to conceal ourselves in.We soon found a cave with a narrow entrance, large enough inside tohold half-a-dozen of such lads as we were, and we crawled in. It wasquite dry, and, as we were very tired, we lay down with our heads onour bundles, intending to take a nap; but we had hardly made ourselvescomfortable and shut our eyes, when we heard such a screaming andbarking that we were frightened out of our lives almost. We could notthink what it could be. At last Hastings peeped out, and began tolaugh; so Homer and I looked out also, and there we saw about onehundred and fifty large baboons leaping and tumbling about in such away as I never saw; they were bigger than we were - indeed, when theystood on their hind legs they were much taller, and they had very largewhite tusks. Some of them were females, with young ones on their backs,and they were just as active as the males. At last they played suchantics, that we all burst out into a loud laugh, and we had not ceasedwhen we found the grinning face of one of the largest of those brutesclose to our own. He had dropped from the rock above us, like magic. Weall three backed into the cave, very much frightened, for the teeth ofthe animal were enormous, and he looked very savage. He gave a shrillcry, and we perceived all the rest of the herd coming to him as fast asthey could. I said that the cave was large enough to hold six of us;but there was a sort of inner cave which we had not gone into, as theentrance was much smaller. Homer cried out, `Let us go into the insidecave - we can get in one by one;' and he backed in; Hastings followedwith his bundle, and I hurried in after him just in time; for thebaboons, who had been chattering to each other for half a minute, cameinto the outer cave just as I crawled into the inner. Five or six ofthem came in, all males, and very large. The first thing they did wasto lay hold of Homer's bundle, which they soon opened - at once theyseized his provisions and rammed them into their pouches, and then theypulled out the other things and tore them all to pieces. As soon asthey had done with the bundle, two of them came towards the inner caveand saw us. One put his long paw in to seize us; but Hastings gave hima slash with his knife, and the animal took his paw out again fastenough. It was laughable to see him hold out his hand to the others,and then taste the blood with the tip of his tongue, and such achattering I never heard - they were evidently very angry, and morecame into the cave and joined them; then another put in his hand, andreceived a cut just as before. At last, two or three at once tried topull us out, but we beat them all off with our knives, wounding themall very severely. For about an hour they continued their attempts, andthen they went away out of the cave, but remained at the mouthshrieking and howling. We began to be very tired of this work, andHomer said that he wished he was back in prison again; and so did I, Ican assure you; but there was no getting out, for had we gone out theanimals would have torn us to pieces. We agreed that we had no chancebut the animals becoming tired and going away; and most anxious wewere, for the excitement had made us very thirsty, and we wanted water.We remained for two hours in this way imprisoned by baboons, when allof a sudden a shrill cry was given by one of the animals, and the wholeherd went galloping off as fast as they could, screaming louder thanever. We waited for a short time to see if they would return, and thenHastings crawled out first, and looking out of the cave verycautiously, said that they were all gone, and that he could see nothingbut a Hottentot sitting down watching some cattle; we therefore allcame out, very happy at our release. That was our first adventure; wehad plenty afterwards; but I think it is now time we should go to bed.It is my opinion we shall have a fine day to-morrow, sir; but there'sno saying."

"I do so want to hear what happened to you afterwards, Ready," said
William.

"Well, so you shall; but there's a time for everything, and this isbed-time, unless you like to go with me; the weather has cleared up,and I want to catch a fish or two for to-morrow."

Chapter XXXV

As Ready had predicted, the weather set in fine after the violent stormof which we have made mention. For a fortnight, with littleintermission, it continued fine, and during that time, Ready, Mr.Seagrave, and William worked from daylight till dusk at the storehouse,which they were so anxious to complete, and were so tired when theirwork was over, that even William did not ask Ready to go on with hishistory. At last the storehouse was complete, thatched and wattled inon three sides, leaving one open for ventilation; the lower part, whichhad been arranged for the folding of the stock at night and during therainy season, was also wattled in with cocoa-nut boughs on three sides,and made a very comfortable retreat for the animals. The winding pathto the storehouse was also cut through the cocoa-nut grove, but thestumps were not removed, as they could not spare the time. All thestores that they had brought round were put into the storehouse, andthey were now ready to take up some other job. It was, however, agreedthat, on the day after the building was finished, they should all havea day's holiday, which they certainly did require. William caught somefish, a turtle was speared and wheeled up to the house; and they notonly had a holiday, but a feast. Mr. Seagrave and William had beenwalking on the beach with Mrs. Seagrave and the children, while Readywas assisting Juno in cutting up the turtle; they had shown Mrs.Seagrave the storehouse, and the goats with the four kids had been ledthere, as there was no longer any occasion for them to remain in thehouse. The weather was beautiful, and they agreed to go and examine thegarden. They found that the seeds had not yet commenced sprouting,notwithstanding the heavy rains.

"I should have thought that so much rain would have made them come up,"said Mrs. Seagrave.

"No, my dear," replied Mr. Seagrave; "they require more of the sun thanthey will have till the rainy season is nearly over; a few days likethis, and they will soon be above-ground."

"Let us sit down on this knoll, it is quite dry," said Mrs. Seagrave."I little thought," continued she, "that I could have been so happy ina desert island. I thought I should feel the loss of books veryseverely, but I really do not think that I could have found time toread."

"Employment is a source of happiness, especially when you are usefullyemployed. An industrious person is always a happy person, provided heis not obliged to work too hard; and even where you have cause forunhappiness, nothing makes you forget it so soon as occupation."

"But, mamma, we shall not always have so much to do as we have now,"said William.

"Of course not," replied Mr. Seagrave; "and then we shall find ourbooks a great source of enjoyment. I am anxious to go to the other sideof the island, and see what have been spared to us, and whether theyhave been much damaged; but that cannot be until after the rains areover, and we can use the boat again.

"Look at this minute insect which is crawling on my finger," said Mr.
Seagrave, turning to William: "what a number of legs it has!"

"Yes, I have seen something like it in old books. How fast it runs withits little legs; thinner than hairs - how wonderful!"

"Yes, William," replied Mr. Seagrave, "we have only to examine into anyportion, however small, of creation, and we are immediately filled withwonder. There is nothing which points out to us the immensity and theomniscience of the Almighty more than the careful provision which hasbeen made by Him for the smallest and most insignificant of createdbeings. This little animal is perhaps one of many millions, who havetheir term of existence, and their enjoyment, as well as we have. Whatis it? - an insect of the minutest kind, a nothing in creation; yet hasthe same care been bestowed upon its formation: these little legs,hardly visible, have their muscles and their sinews; and every otherportion of its body is as complete, as fearfully and wonderfullyfashioned, as our own. Such is his will; and what insects we ought tofeel ourselves, when compared to the God of power and of love!"

"Let me also point out to you, William," continued Mr. Seagrave, "theinfinity of his creative power, displayed in endless variety. Amongstthe millions of men that have been born, and died, if ever yet werethere seen two faces or two bodies exactly alike; nay, if you couldexamine the leaves upon the trees, although there may be millions uponmillions in a forest, you could not discover two leaves of preciselythe same form and make."

"I have often tried in vain," replied William; "yet some animals are somuch alike, that I cannot perceive any difference between them - sheep,for instance."

"Very true; you cannot tell the difference, because you have notexamined them; but a shepherd, if he has seven hundred sheep under hiscare, will know every one of them from the others; which proves thatthere must be a great difference between them, although not perceptibleto the casual observer; and the same, no doubt, is the case with allother classes of animals."

"Yes, William," observed Ready; "I have often wondered over the thingsthat I have seen, and I have even in my ignorance felt what your papahas now told you; and it has brought into my mind the words of Job:`When I consider, I am afraid of him'."

"Papa," said William, after a pause in the conversation, "you havereferred to the variety - the wonderful variety - shown in the works ofthe Deity. Tell me some other prominent feature in creation."

"One of the most remarkable, William, is order."

"Point out to me, papa, where and in what that quality is mostobservable."

"Everywhere and in everything, my dear boy; whether we cast our eyes upto the heavens above us, or penetrate into the bowels of the earth, theprinciple of order is everywhere - everything is governed by fixedlaws, which cannot be disobeyed: we have order in the seasons, in thetides, in the movement of the heavenly bodies, in the instinct ofanimals, in the duration of life assigned to each; from the elephantwho lives more than a century, to the ephemeral fly, whose wholeexistence is limited to an hour.

"Inanimate nature is subject to the same unvarying laws. Metals, androcks, and earths, and all the mineral kingdom follow one law in theircrystallization, never varying from the form assigned to them; eachatom depositing itself in the allotted place, until that form iscomplete: we have order in production, order in decay; but all issimple to him by whom the planets were thrown out into space, and werecommanded to roll in their eternal orbits."

"Yes; the stars in the heavens are beautiful," said William, "but theyare not placed there in order."

"The fixed stars do not appear to us to be in order - that is, they donot stud the heavens at equal distances from each other as we viewthem; but you must recollect that they are at very different distancesfrom this earth, spreading over all infinity of space; and we havereason to suppose that this our earth is but a mere unit in themultitude of created worlds, only one single portion of an infinitewhole. As the stars now appear to us, they are useful to the mariner,enabling him to cross the trackless seas; and to the astronomer, whocalculates the times and seasons."

"What do you mean, papa, by saying that this world of ours is supposedto be but one of a multitude of created worlds?"

"Our little knowledge is bounded to this our own earth, which we haveascertained very satisfactorily to be but one of several planetsrevolving round our own sun. I say our own sun, because we have everyreason to suppose that each of those fixed stars, and myriads now notvisible to the naked eye, are all suns, bright and glorious as our own,and of course throwing light and heat upon unseen planets revolvinground them. Does not this give you some idea of the vastness, thepower, and the immensity of God?"

"One almost loses one's self in the imagination," said Mrs. Seagrave.

"Yes," replied Mr. Seagrave; "and it has been surmised by some, whohave felt in their hearts the magnificence of the Great Architect, thatthere must be some point of view in space where all those glorioussuns, which seem to us confused in the heavens above us, will appearall symmetrically arranged, will there be viewed in regular order,whirling round in one stupendous and perfect system of beauty anddesign; and where can that be, if it is not in that heaven which wehope to gain?"

There was a silence for a few moments, when William said, "They saythat there are people who are atheists, papa. How can they be so ifthey only look around them? I am sure a mere examination of the worksof God ought to make them good Christians."

"No, my child," replied Mr. Seagrave; "there you are in error. Few denythe existence of a Deity, and an examination of his works may make themgood and devout men, but not Christians. There are good men to be foundunder every denomination, whether they be Jews, Mahomedans, or Pagans;but they are not Christians."

"Very true, papa."

"Faith in things seen, if I may use the term, my dear child, may inducemen to acknowledge the power and goodness of the Almighty, but it willnot make them wise to salvation; for that end, it is necessary, as theApostle saith, to have faith in things not seen."

Chapter XXXVI

"Well, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave, after breakfast, "which is to be ournext job?"

"Why, sir, I think we had better all set to, to collect the branchesand ends of the cocoa-nut trees cut down, and stack them for fuel.Tommy and Juno have already made a good large pile, and I think, byto-night, we shall have made the stack, and so arranged it that therain will not get into it much. After that, as the weather will notpermit us to leave the house for any time, we will cut our salt-pan andmake our fish-pond; they will take a week at least, and then we shallhave little more to do near home. I think the strength of the rains isover already, and perhaps in a fortnight we may venture to walk throughthe wood, and examine what we have saved from the wreck."

"And we are to explore the island; are we not, Ready?" said William. "Ilong to do that."

"Yes, William, but that must be almost the last job; for we shall beaway for two or three nights, perhaps, and we must look out for fineweather. We will, however, do that before we bring the stores round inthe boat."

"But how are we to make the salt-pan, Ready? We must cut it out of thesolid rock."

"Yes, William; but I have three or four of what they call cold chisels,and with one of them and a hammer, we shall get on faster than youthink; for the coral rock, although hard at the surface, is soft alittle below it."

The whole of that day was employed in piling up the cocoa-nut branchesand wood. Ready made a square stack, like a haystack, with a gable top,over which he tied the long branches, so that the rain would pour offit.

"There," said Ready, as he came down the ladder, "that will be ourprovision for next year; we have quite enough left to go on with tillthe rainy season is over, and we shall have no difficulty in collectingit afterwards when the weather is dry."

Mr. Seagrave sighed and looked grave; Ready observed it, and said, "Mr.Seagrave, it is not that we may want it; but still we must prepare forthe next rainy season, in case we do want it. That Captain Osborn, ifhe lives, will send to look for us, I have no doubt; nay, I believethat Mackintosh will do the same; but still you must not forget thatthey all may have perished, although we have been so mercifullypreserved. We must put our trust in God, sir."

"We must, Ready; and if it is his will, we must not murmur. I haveschooled myself as much as possible; but thoughts will come in spite ofmy endeavours to restrain them."

"Of course they will, sir; that's natural: however, sir, you must hopefor the best; fretting is no good, and it is sinful."

"I feel it is, Ready; and when I see how patient, and even happy, mywife is under such privations, I am angry with myself."

"A woman, sir, bears adversity better than a man. A woman is all love,and if she has but her husband and children with her, and in goodhealth, she will make herself happy almost anywhere: but men aredifferent: they cannot bear being shut out of the world as you arenow."

"It is our ambition which makes us unhappy, Ready," replied Mr.Seagrave; "but let us say no more about it: God must dispose of me ashe thinks fit."

After supper, Ready, being requested by William, continued hisnarrative.

"I left off, if I recollect right, William, just as the Hottentot, withthe cattle under his care, had frightened away the baboons who weretormenting us. Well, we came out of the cave and sat down under therock, so that the Hottentot could not see us, and we had a sort ofcouncil of war. Romer was for going back and giving ourselves up again;for he said it was ridiculous to be wandering about without any arms todefend ourselves against wild beasts, and that we might fall in withsomething worse than the baboons very soon; and he was right. It wouldhave been the wisest thing which we could have done; but Hastings said,that if we went back we should be laughed at, and the idea of beinglaughed at made us all agree that we would not. Bear this in mind,William, and never let the fear of ridicule induce you to do what iswrong; or if you have done wrong, prevent you from returning to what isyour duty."

"Many thanks for your advice, Ready; I hope William will not forgetit," said Mr. Seagrave.

"Well, sir, such was our reason for not giving up our mad scheme; andhaving so decided, the next point of consultation between us was, howwe were to procure arms and ammunition, which we could not do without.As we were talking this over, I peeped from behind the rock to seewhere the Hottentot might be; I perceived that he had laid himselfdown, and wrapped himself up in his kross, a mantle of sheep-skinswhich they always wear. Now we had observed that he carried his musketin his hand, when we first saw him, as the Hottentots always go outarmed, and I pointed out to Hastings and Romer that if he was asleep,we might get possession of his musket without his perceiving it. Thiswas a good idea, and Hastings said he would crawl to him on his handsand knees, while we remained behind the rock. He did so verycautiously, and found the man's head covered up in his kross and fastasleep; so there was no fear, for the Hottentots are very hard to wakeat any time; that we knew well. Hastings first took the musket andcarried it away out of the reach of the Hottentot, and then he returnedto him, cut the leather thong which slung his powder-horn andammunition, and retreated with all of them without disturbing the manfrom his sleep. We were quite overjoyed at this piece of good luck, anddetermined to walk very cautiously some distance from where theHottentot lay, that in case he awoke he should not see us. Keeping oureyes about in every direction, lest we should meet with anybody else,we proceeded nearly a mile towards Table Bay, when we fell in with astream of water. This was another happy discovery, for we were verythirsty; so we concealed ourselves near the stream after we hadquenched our thirst, and made a dinner off the provisions we hadbrought with us."

"But, Ready, did you not do wrong to steal the Hottentot's musket?"

"No, William; in that instance it could not be considered as a theft.We were in an enemy's country, trying to escape; we were therefore justas much at war with the country as we were when they took us prisoners,and we no more stole the musket than they could be said to have stolenour ship. Am I not right, Mr. Seagrave?"

"I believe you are justified in what may seem extreme acts for therecovery of your liberty, after you have been made prisoners. It hasalways been so considered."

"Well, sir, to go on: we waited till dusk, and then we continued ourmarch towards False Bay as fast as we could. We knew that there werefarmers down in the valley, or rather on the sides of the hills, and wehoped to obtain, by some means or other, two more muskets. It was neartwelve o'clock at night, with a bright moon, when we had a sight of thewater in False Bay, and soon afterwards we heard the baying of a largedog, and not far from us we distinguished two or three farmhouses, withtheir cattle-folds and orchards. We then looked for a hiding-place,where we might remain till the morning; we found one between some largepieces of rock. We agreed that one should watch while the other twoslept; this Hastings undertook to do, as he was not inclined to sleep.At daylight he woke Romer and me, and we made our breakfast. From theplace we were concealed in, we had a bird's-eye view of the farmhouse,and of what was going on.

"The farmhouse and buildings just below us were much smaller than theother two, which were more distant. We watched the people as they wentabout. In about an hour the Hottentots came out, and we perceived thatthey were yoking the oxen to the waggon; they yoked twelve pair, andthen the Hottentot driver got in and drove off towards Cape Town. Soonafter that, another Hottentot drove the cows up the valley to feed; andthen a Dutch woman came out of the house with two children, and fed thepoultry.

"We watched for another hour, and then the farmer himself made hisappearance, with a pipe in his mouth, and sat down on a bench. When hispipe was out, he called to the house, and a Hottentot woman came to himwith more tobacco and a light. During the whole of the day we did notsee any other people about the house, so we concluded that there wereno more than the farmer, his wife, the Hottentot woman, and twochildren. About two hours after noon the farmer went to the stable andled out his horse, mounted, mid rode away; we saw him speak to theHottentot woman when he rode off, and she soon after went down thevalley with a basket on her head, and a long knife in her hand. ThenHastings said it was time that we moved, for there was but one woman inthe house, and we could easily overpower her and get what we wanted;still there was a great risk, as she might give the alarm, and weshould have to escape in the day-time, and might be seen and takenprisoners again. However, as it was our only chance, we resolved to godown to the farmhouse very cautiously, and be all ready to seize anyopportunity. We crept down the hill, and gained the fence, which was atthe back of the farmhouse, without being discovered: we remained therefor about a quarter of an hour, when, to our great joy, we observed thefarmer's wife go out of the house, leading a child in each hand;apparently she was going to visit one of her neighbours, for she wentin the direction of one of the other farms. As soon as she was ahundred yards off, Hastings crept softly through the fence, and enteredthe farmhouse by the back-door; he came out again, and made a sign forus to come in. We found him already in possession of a rifle and amusket, which had been hanging over the fire-place, and we soon handeddown the powder-horns and ammunition pouches, which were hung up at adifferent part of the room, away from the fire-place.

"Having gained these, Hastings set me to watch at the front door, lestanybody should return, while Romer and he looked out for something elsein the way of provisions. We got possession of three hams, and a largeloaf of bread as big as a small washing-tub. With these articles wemade our way safe back to our retreat. We then looked round, and couldsee nobody in any direction, so we presumed that we were notdiscovered. As there was a sort of ravine full of rocks dividing thehill, which we were obliged to pass before we could get into thevalley, unless we went down close to the farmhouse, we agreed that itwould be better at once to cross it during the day-time, so that weshould get that difficulty over, and, at the same time, be further fromthe farmhouse. We did so; and found a very secure hiding-place, wherewe lay down, waiting for the sun to set before we started on ourjourney into the interior. I think I had better leave off now, William,as it is getting late."

Chapter XXXVII

The fishpond was commenced the next morning. Ready, Mr. Seagrave, andWilliam went down together to the beach, and, after much examination,chose a spot about one hundred yards from the turtle-pond as mosteligible for the purpose; the water being shallow, so that at the partfarthest from the shore there would not be more than three feet.

"Now, sir," said Ready, "this is a very simple job; all we have to dois to collect small rocks and stones, pile them up wall-fashion inside,and with a slope outside, so as to break the force of the waves whenthe water is a little rough; of course, the water will find its waythrough the stones, and will be constantly changed. It's very true,that we can at most times catch fish when we want them, but it is notalways that we can spare the time, so it's just as well to have alwaysa certain quantity at hand, to take out at a moment's warning; and wecan, of course, catch them and put them in here when we have nothingelse to do. Juno will be able to come down and take them out with aspear, when we are away and she wants something for dinner."

"But there are few stones about here, Ready; we shall have to fetchthem a long way," said William.

"Well, then, William, let us get the wheels down here, and then we cancarry a quantity at a time."

"But how shall we carry them, Ready?"

"We will sling a tub on the axle; I will go up and get that ready andbring it down; in the meantime, you and Mr. Seagrave can collect allthe stones which are near at hand."

Ready soon returned with the wheels, and the tub slung with rope on theaxle, and by that means they found that they could collect the stonesvery fast; Mr. Seagrave and William bringing them, and Ready in thewater, building up the wall.

"We have quite forgot another job which we must put in hand, sir,"observed Ready; "but the fish-pond reminds me of it."

"What is that, Ready?"

"A bathing-place for the children, and indeed for us all; we shall wantit when the hot weather comes on, but we will put it off till then. Ican tell you, sir, that although I don't mind building this wall in theshallow water, I shall be very careful when the water is up to myknees, for you don't know how bold the sharks are in these latitudes.When I was at St. Helena, not very long ago, we had a melancholy proofof it."

"Tell us the story, Ready."

"Well, two soldiers were standing on the rocks at St. Helena; the rockswere out of the water, but the swell just broke over them. Two sharksswam up to them, and one of them, with a blow of his tail, turninground the same way, tripped one of them into the water, which was verydeep. His comrade was very much frightened, and ran to the barracks totell the story. About a week afterwards, a schooner was in Sandy Bay,on the other side of the island, and the people seeing a very largeshark under the stern, put out a hook with a piece of pork, and caughthim; they opened him, and found inside of him, to their horror, thewhole of the body of the soldier, except the legs below the knees: themonster had swallowed him whole, with the exception of his legs, whichit had nipped off when it closed its jaws."

"I really had no idea that they were so bold, Ready."

"It is a fact, I assure you; and therefore we cannot be too careful howwe go into the water: you saw how soon the poor pig was despatched."

"I wonder how the pigs get on, Ready," said William.

"I dare say they have littered by this time, sir; they have no want offood."

"But can they eat the cocoa-nuts?"

"Not the old ones, but they can the young ones, which are constantlydropping from the trees, and then there's plenty of roots for them. Ifwe stay long here we shall soon have good sport hunting them; but wemust be very careful; for although they were tame pigs when we broughtthem on shore, they will be wild and very savage in a very short time."

"How must we hunt them?" said Mr. Seagrave.

"Why, sir, with the dogs, and then shoot them. I am glad that Vixenwill have pups soon; we shall want more dogs."

"Shall we not have more mouths than we can find food for?"

"Never fear that, sir, as long as we have the sea to fish in. Dogs livevery well upon fish, even if it is raw."

"We shall have some lambs soon, Ready, shall we not?"

"Yes, sir, I expect very soon. I wish we had more food for the animals:they are put rather hard to it just now; but next year, if we find morefood on the island, we must keep the grass near home, to make hay andstack it for the winter time - or the rainy season rather, for there isno winter in these latitudes. I'm pretty sure we shall find some clearland on the south of the island, for the cocoa-nut grove does notextend so close to the water on that side as it does on the north."

"I do so long to go on our exploring party," said William.

"We must wait a little," replied Ready; "but I don't know whether youwill go; we must not all three go at once, and leave Mrs. Seagravealone."

"No," replied Mr. Seagrave, "that would not be fair; either you or Imust remain, William."

William made no reply, but it was evident that he was annoyed at theidea of not being of the party. They worked very hard that day, and thewalls rose fast out of the water.

After supper, Ready continued his narrative. "We remained concealeduntil it was dark, and then Hastings and Romer, each with a musket onhis shoulders and a ham at his back; and I, being the smallest, withthe rifle and the great loaf of bread, set off on our journey. Ourintention was to travel north, as we knew that was the road leadingfrom the colony; but Hastings had decided that we should first go tothe eastward, so as to make what we sailors call a circumbendibus,which would keep us out of the general track. We passed through thedeep sands of False Bay, and after that gradually ascended, gettingamong brushwood and young trees; but we saw no signs of cultivation,nor did we pass one house after we had left False Bay astern of us.About twelve o'clock we were very much fatigued, and longed for a drinkof water, but we did not find any, although the moon shone as bright asday. We distinctly heard, however, what we did not much like, thehowling and cries of the wild beasts which increased as we went on;still we did not see any, and that was our comfort. At last we were sotired that we all sat down on the ledge of a rock. We dared not go tosleep, so we remained there till daylight, listening to the howling ofthe animals. We none of us spoke, and I presume that Hastings' andRomer's thoughts were the same as my own, which were, that I would havegiven a great deal to find myself safe and sound again within theprison walls. However, daylight came at last; the wild beasts did notprowl any more; we walked on till we found a stream of water, where wesat down and took our breakfast, after which our courage revived, andwe talked and laughed as we walked on, just as we had done before. Wenow began to ascend the mountains, which Hastings said must be theBlack Mountains that the soldiers had talked to us about. They werevery desolate; and when night came on we collected brushwood, and cutdown branches with our knives, that we might make a fire, not only towarm ourselves, but to scare away the wild beasts, whose howling hadalready commenced. We lighted our fire and ate our supper; the loaf washalf gone, and the hams had been well cut into - we knew, therefore,that very soon we should have to trust to our guns for procuring food.As soon as we had finished our meal, we lay down by the fire, with ourmuskets loaded close to us, and our ammunition placed out of danger. Wewere so tired that we were soon fast asleep. It had been agreed thatRomer should keep the first watch, and Hastings the middle, and I themorning; but Romer fell asleep, and the consequence was, that the firewas not kept up. It was about midnight that I was awakened by somethingbreathing hard in my face, and just as I could recall my senses andopen my eyes, I found myself lifted up by my waistband, and the teethof some animal pinching my flesh. I tried to catch at my musket, but Iput out my wrong hand, and laid hold of a still lighted brand out ofthe fire, which I darted into the animal's face; it let me dropdirectly, and ran away."

"What a providential escape!" said Mrs. Seagrave.

"Yes, it was, ma'am; the animal was a hyena. Fortunately they are avery cowardly sort of beast; still, had it not been for the lightedstick, it would have carried me off, for I was very small then, and itlifted me up as if I was a feather in its mouth. The shout I gave wokeHastings, who seized his musket and fired. I was very much frightened,as you may suppose. As for Romer, he never woke till we pushed himhard, he was so completely knocked up. This affair, of course, made usmore cautious, and afterwards we lighted two fires, and slept betweenthem, one always remaining on the watch. For a week we travelled on,and as soon as we were over the mountains, we turned our heads to thenorthward. Our provisions were all gone, and we were one day withoutany; but we killed an antelope called a spring-bock, which gave usprovisions for three or four days: there was no want of game after wehad descended into the plain. I forgot to mention, however, a narrowescape we had, just before we had left an extensive forest on the sideof the mountain. We had walked till past noon, and were very muchtired; we decided upon taking our dinner under a large tree, and wethrew ourselves down in the shade. Hastings was lying on his back, withhis eyes looking upwards, when he perceived on the lower branch of thetree a panther, which lay along it, his green eyes fixed upon us, andready to spring; he seized his musket, and fired it without taking aim,for there was no time; but the ball entered the stomach of the animal,and, as it appeared, divided its back-bone. Down came the beast, withinthree or four feet of where we lay, with a loud roar, and immediatelycrouched to spring upon Romer; but it could not, for the back-bonebeing broken, it had not any power in its hinder quarters, so it raisedup its fore quarters, and then dropped down again. I never saw suchrage and fury in an animal in my life. At first we were too muchfrightened to fire; but, perceiving that the beast could not spring,Hastings snatched the musket from Romer and shot it through the head.

"We were now obliged to hunt for our livelihood, and we became bolderthan ever. Our clothes were all in rags; but we had plenty of powderand ammunition; there were hundreds and hundreds of antelopes and gnusin the plain - indeed, sometimes it was impossible to count them. Butthis plentiful supply of game was the cause of our being in greaterdanger, for now, for the first time, we heard the roar of the lionsevery night. We made large fires to keep them off, but they often madeus tremble when they came near to us."

"Did you ever meet with one in the day-time?" said William.

"Yes, sir; we often saw them, but they never attacked us, and we weretoo much afraid to fire at them. Once we met one face to face. We hadkilled an antelope called a hartebeest, and, with our muskets on ourshoulders, were running to secure it. Just as we came up to the spot,we beard a roar, and found ourselves not ten yards from a lion, who waslying on the top of the beast we had killed, his eyes flashing fire atus, and half raising himself, as if ready for a spring. We all took toour heels as fast as we could. I never looked back till I was out ofbreath: but the lion was content with our running away, and did nottake the trouble to follow us. Well, sir, we had been travelling, wereally hardly knew where, but certainly in a northerly direction, forthree weeks, and were quite worn out: we now all agreed that we haddone a very foolish thing, and would gladly have gone back again. Formy part, I declare that I was willing to lie down and die, if I couldhave so done, and I became quite indifferent to the roaring of thelions, and felt as if I should be glad if one would have made a meal ofme. At length, one morning, we fell in with a party of natives. Theywere of the Karroo tribe, as they told us by pointing to themselves,and saying, `Karroos', and then they pointed to us, and said `Dutch'.We shot game, and gave it to them, which pleased them very much, andthey remained with us for five or six days. We tried by signs toinquire of them, if there were any Dutch settlement about there; andthey understood us, and said that there was, in a direction which theypointed out to us, to the north-east. We offered them a present if theywould show us the way. Two of the men agreed to go with us; the rest ofthe tribe, with the women and children, went southward. The next day wearrived at a Dutch settlement of three or four farmhouses, calledGraaff Reinet; but I must leave off now, for it is past bed-time."

Chapter XXXVIII

The construction of the fish-pond proceeded rapidly, and on the thirdday it was nearly complete. As soon as all the walls were finished,Ready threw out sand and shingle, so as to make the part next to thebeach nearly as deep as the other; so that there might be sufficientwater to prevent the gulls and man-of-war birds from darting down, andstriking the fish. While Ready was thus employed, Mr. Seagrave andWilliam collected more rocks, so as to divide the pond into four parts,at the same time allowing a communication between each part. Theseinside walls, as well as the outside, were made of sufficient width towalk upon; by which means they would have all the fish within reach ofthe spear, in case they wished to take them out. The day after the pondwas completed the weather changed. The rain poured down with greatforce, but it was not accompanied with such terrific thunder andlightning, nor were the storms of so long continuance, as at thecommencement of the rainy season. In the intervals of fine weather theycaught a great many fish, which they put into the pond, so that it waswell stocked. But a circumstance occurred, which was the occasion ofgreat alarm to them all; which was, that one evening William was takenwith a shivering, and complained very much of a pain in his head. Readyhad promised to continue his narrative on that evening, but William wastoo ill to sit up. He was put into bed, and the next morning he was ina violent fever. Mr. Seagrave was much alarmed, as the symptoms wereworse every hour; and Ready, who had sat up with him during the night,called Mr. Seagrave out of the house, and said, "This is a bad case,sir: William was working yesterday with his hat off, and I fear that hehas been struck by the sun."

The poor boy was for many days in great danger; and the cheerful housewas now one of gloom and silence. How fervent were now the morning andevening prayers; how often during the day did his parents offer up apetition to heaven for their dear boy's recovery. The weather becamefiner every day, and it was almost impossible to keep Tommy quiet: Junowent out with him and Albert every morning, and kept them with herwhile she cooked; and, fortunately, Vixen had some young ones, and whenJuno could no longer amuse them, she brought them two of the puppies toplay with. As for the quiet, meek little Caroline, she would remainduring the whole day holding her mother's hand, and watching herbrother, or working with her needle by the side of his bed.

Ready, who could not be idle, had taken the hammer and cold chisel tomake the salt-pan, at which he worked during those portions of the dayin which his services were not required indoors; and as he sat chippingaway the rock, his thoughts were ever upon William, for he dearly lovedthe boy for his amiable disposition and his cleverness; and many a timeduring the day would he stop his work, and the tears would run down hischeeks as he offered up his petition to the Almighty that the boy mightbe spared to his afflicted parents. And those prayers were heard, foron the ninth day William was pronounced by Ready and Mr. Seagrave tohave much less fever, and shortly afterwards it left him altogether;but he was so weak that he could not raise himself in his bed for twoor three days; and it was not till more than a fortnight after thefever had left him that he could go out of the house. The joy that wasexpressed by them all when the change took place may be imagined: norwere the thanksgivings less fervent than had been the prayers.

During his convalescence, as there was nothing else to do, Mr. Seagraveand Ready, who now went gladly to their work, determined, as thesalt-pan was finished, that they would make a bathing-place. Juno cameto their assistance, and was very useful in assisting to drag thewheels which brought the rocks and stones; and Tommy was also broughtdown, that he might be out of the way while Mrs. Seagrave and Carolinewatched the invalid. By the time that William was able to go out of thehouse, the bathing-place was finished, and there was no longer any fearof the sharks. William came down to the beach with his mother, andlooked at the work which had been done; he was much pleased with it,and said, "Now, Ready, we have finished everything at home for thepresent; all we have to do is to explore the island, and to go to thecove and examine our collection from the wreck."

"Very true, William; and the weather has been so fine, that I think wemay venture upon one or the other in a few days more; but not till youare stronger."

"I shall soon be strong again, Ready."

"I have no doubt of it, William; and we have good reason to thank God,for we could ill spare you."

"It's a long while since you have gone on with your story, Ready," saidWilliam, after they had taken their supper; "I wish you would do sonow, as I am sure I shall not be tired."

"With pleasure, William," replied Ready; "but can you remember where Ileft off, for my memory is none of the best?"

"Oh, yes; if you recollect, you had just arrived at a Dutch farmer'shouse, in company with the savages, at a place called Graaff Reinet, Ithink."

"Well then, the Dutch farmer came out when he saw us coming, and askedus who we were. We told him that we were English prisoners, and that wewished to give ourselves up to the authorities. He took away our armsand ammunition, and said that he was the authority in that part, whichwas true enough; and then he said, `You'll not run away without armsand ammunition, that's certain. As for sending you to the Cape, that Imay not be able to do for months; so if you wish to be fed well, youmust work well while you're here.' We replied, that we should be veryglad to make ourselves useful, and then he sent us some dinner by aHottentot girl. But we soon found out that we had to deal with anill-tempered, brutal fellow; and that he gave us plenty of hard work,but by no means plenty of food. He would not trust us with guns, so theHottentots went out with the cattle, but he gave us plenty of work todo about the house; and at last he treated us very cruelly. When he wasshort of provisions for the Hottentots and other slaves, of whom he bada good many, he would go out with the other farmers who lived near him,and shoot quaggas for them to eat. Nobody but a Hottentot could liveupon such flesh."

"What is quagga?"

"A wild ass, partly covered with stripes, but not so much as the zebra;a pretty animal to look at, but the flesh is very bad. At last he wouldgive us nothing to eat but quaggas, the same as the Hottentots, whilehe and his family - for he had a wife and five children - lived uponmutton and the flesh of the antelope, which is very excellent eating.We asked him to allow us a gun to procure better food, and he kickedRomer so unmercifully, that he could not work for two days afterwards.Our lives became quite a burden to us; we were employed all day on thefarm, and every day he was more brutal towards us. At last we agreedthat we would stand it no longer, and one evening Hastings told him so.This put him into a great rage, and he called two of the slaves, andordered them to tie him to the waggon wheel, swearing that he would cutevery bit of skin off his body, and he went into his house to get hiswhip. The slaves had hold of Hastings, and were tying him up, for theydared not disobey their master, when he said to us, `If I am floggedthis way, it will be all over with us. Now's your time; run back behindthe house, and when he comes out with the whip, do you go in and seizethe muskets, which are always ready loaded. Hold him at bay till I getclear, and then we will get away somehow or other. You must do it, forI am sure he will flog me till I am dead, and he will shoot you, asrunaway prisoners, as he did his two Hottentots the other day.' AsRomer and I thought this very probable, we did as Hastings told us; andwhen the Dutchman had gone towards him where he was tied up, aboutfifty yards from the house, we went in. The farmer's wife was in bed,having just had an addition to her family, and the children we carednot for. We seized two muskets and a large knife, and came out just asthe Dutchman had struck the first blow with the rhinoceros whip, whichwas so severe, that it took away poor Hastings' breath. We went up; heturned round and saw us: we levelled our muskets at him, and hestopped. `Another blow, and we'll shoot you,' cried Romer. `Yes,' criedI; `we are only boys, but you've Englishmen to deal with.' When we cameup, Romer kept his piece levelled at the Dutchman, while I passed him,and with the knife cut the thongs which bound Hastings. The Dutchmanturned pale and did not speak, he was so frightened, and the slaves ranaway. As soon as Hastings was free, he seized a large wooden mallet,used for driving in stakes, and struck the Dutchman down to the earth,crying out, `That for flogging an Englishman, you rascal!'

"While the man lay senseless or dead - I didn't know which at the time- we tied him to the waggon wheels, and returning to the house, seizedsome ammunition and other articles which might be useful. We then wentto the stables, and took the three best horses which the Dutchman had,put some corn in a sack for each of them, took some cord for halters,mounted, and rode away as fast as we could. As we knew that we shouldbe pursued, we first galloped away as if we were going eastward to theCape; and then, as soon as we were on ground which would not show thetracks of our horses' hoofs, we turned round to the northward, in thedirection of the Bushman country. It was dark soon after we had alteredour course; but we travelled all night, and although we heard theroaring of the lions at a distance, we met with no accident. Atdaylight we rested our horses, and gave them some corn, and then satdown to eat some of the provision we had brought with us."

"How long were you with the farmer at Graaff Reinet?"

"Nearly eight months, sir; and during that time we could not only speakDutch, but we could make ourselves understood by the Hottentots andother natives. While we were eating we held a consultation how weshould proceed. We were aware that the Dutchmen would shoot us if theycame up with us, and that they would come out in strong force againstus; and we were afraid that we had killed the man, and if so, theywould hang us as soon as we got to the Cape; so we were at a great lossto know how to act. At last we decided that we would cross the countryof the Bushmen, and get to the sea-side, to the northward of the Cape.We determined that it would be better to travel at night, as therewould be less fear of the wild beasts, or of being seen; so we wentfast asleep for many hours. Towards the evening, we found water for thehorses, and then we fed them again, and proceeded on our journey. Iwon't tell what passed every day for a fortnight, by which time we hadpretty well killed our horses, and we were compelled to stop among atribe of Gorraguas, a very mild, inoffensive people, who supplied uswith milk, and treated us very kindly. We had some adventures,nevertheless. One day as we were passing by a tuft of small trees, arhinoceros charged upon my horse, which very narrowly escaped bywheeling short round and getting behind him; the beast then made offwithout meddling with us any more. Every day we used to shoot someanimal or other, for provision: sometimes it was a gnu, somethingbetween an antelope and a bull; at other times it was one of theantelope kind.

"Well, we stayed for three weeks with these people, and gave our horsestime to refresh themselves; and then we set off again, keeping moretowards the coast as we went southward, for the Gorraguas told us thatthere was a fierce native tribe, called Kaffers, to the northward, whowould certainly kill us if we went there. The fact is, we did not knowwhat to do. We had left the Cape without any exact idea where we shouldgo to, like foolish boys as we were, and we became more entangled withdifficulties every day. At last we decided that it would be better tofind our way back to the Cape, and deliver ourselves up as prisoners,for we were tired out with fatigue and constant danger. All that wewere afraid of was that we had killed the Dutch farmer at GraaffReinet, who had treated us so brutally; but Hastings said he did notcare; that was his business, and he would take his chance: so when webade adieu to the Gorraguas, we turned our horses' heads to thesouth-east, so as to make the sea and go to the southward at the sametime.

"I have now to mention a most melancholy event which occurred. Two daysafter we had recommenced our travels, in passing through some highgrass, we stumbled on a lion, which was devouring a gnu. Romer, whohappened to be some ten yards foremost of the three, was so alarmedthat he fired at the animal, which we had agreed never to do, as it wasfolly to enrage so powerful a beast, when our party was so small. Thelion was slightly wounded; he gave a roar that might have been heardfor a mile, sprang upon Romer, and with one blow of his paw knocked himoff the saddle into the bushes. Our horses, which were frightened,wheeled round and fled, for the animal was evidently about to attackus. As it was, he did make one bound in our direction; we could notpull up until we had gone half a mile; and when we did, we saw the lionhad torn down the horse which Romer had ridden, and was dragging awaythe carcass to the right at a sort of a canter, without any apparenteffort on his part. We waited till he was well off, and then rode backto the spot where Romer had fallen: we soon found him, but he was quitedead; the blow with the lion's paw had fractured his skull.

"I ought to have said that the Gorraguas told us not to travel bynight, but by day; and we had done so in consequence of their advice. Ibelieve it was very good advice, notwithstanding this unfortunateaccident, for we found that when we had travelled all night the lionshad more than once followed us the whole time; and indeed I have oftenthought since that we were altogether indebted to his mercy whoordereth all things, both in heaven and earth, that we escaped so wellas we did. Three days after poor Romer's death we first saw the wideocean again. We kept near the coast, but we soon found that we couldnot obtain the supply of game, or fuel for our fires at night, so wellas we could in the interior, and we agreed to get away from the coastagain. We had a dreary plain to pass over, and we were quite faint forwant of food - for we had been without any for nearly two days - whenwe came upon an ostrich. Hastings put his horse to his speed, but itwas of no use - the ostrich ran much faster than the horse could. Iremained behind, and, to my great joy, discovered his nest, withthirteen large eggs in it. Hastings soon came back, with his horsepanting and out of wind. We sat down, lighted a fire, and roasted twoof the eggs: we made a good dinner of them, and having put four more onour saddle-bows, we continued our journey. At last, one forenoon, wesaw the Table Mountain, and were as glad to see it as if we had seenthe white cliffs of Old England. We pushed on our horses with the hopesof being once more comfortably in prison before night; when, as weneared the bay, we noticed that English colours were flying on board ofthe vessels in the road. This surprised us very much; but soon afterthat we met an English soldier, who told us that the Cape had beentaken by our forces more than six months ago. This was a joyfulsurprise, as you may suppose. We rode into the town, and reportedourselves to the main guard; the governor sent for us, heard our story,and sent us to the admiral, who took us on board of his own ship."

Chapter XXXIX

The next morning, as there was no particular work on hand, Ready andMr. Seagrave took the lines to add to the stock of the fish-pond. Asthe weather was fine and cool, William accompanied them, that he mighthave the benefit of the fresh air. As they passed the garden, theyobserved that the seeds sown had already sprung up an inch or two abovethe ground, and that, apparently none of them had missed. While Readyand Mr. Seagrave were fishing, and William sitting near them, Williamsaid to his father—

"Many of the islands near us are inhabited; are they not, papa?"

"Yes, but not those very near us, I believe. At all events, I neverheard any voyagers mention having seen inhabitants on the isles nearwhich we suppose the one we are on to be."

"What sort of people are the islanders in these seas?"

"They are various. The New Zealanders are the most advanced incivilization. The natives of Van Diemen's Land and Australia are someportions of them of a very degraded class - indeed, little better thanthe beasts of the field."

"I have seen them," said Ready; "and I think I can mention a people,not very numerous indeed, who are still more like the beasts of thefield. I saw them once; and, at first, thought they were animals, andnot human beings."

"Indeed, Ready; where may that be?"

"In the Great Andaman Isles, at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal. I onceanchored in distress in Port Cornwallis, and the morning after weanchored, we saw some black things going upon all fours under the treesthat came down to the water's edge. We got the telescope, and perceivedthen that they were men and women, for they stood upright."

"Did you ever come into contact with them?"

"No, sir, I did not; but I met, at Calcutta, a soldier who had; for atone time the East India Company intended making a settlement on theisland, and sent some troops there. He said that they caught two ofthem; that they were not more than four feet high, excessively stupidand shy; they had no houses or huts to live in, and all that they didwas to pile up some bushes to keep the wind off."

"Had they any arms?"

"Yes, sir, they had bows and arrows; but so miserably made, and sosmall, that they could not kill anything but very small birds."

"Where did the people come from who inhabited these islands, papa?"

"That is difficult to say, William; but it is supposed that they havebecome inhabited in much the same way as this our island has been -that is, by people in canoes or boats driven out to sea, and savingtheir lives by effecting a landing, as we have done."

"I believe that's the truth," replied Ready; "I heard say that theAndaman Isles were supposed to have been first inhabited by a slaverfull of negroes, who were wrecked on the coast in a typhoon."

"What is a typhoon, Ready?"

"It is much the same as a hurricane, William; it comes on in India atthe change of the monsoons."

"But what are monsoons?"

"Winds that blow regular from one quarter so many months during theyear, and then change round and blow from another just as long."

"And what are the trade-winds, which I heard poor Captain Osborntalking about after we left Madeira?"

"The trade-winds blow on the equator, and several degrees north andsouth of it, from the east to the west, following the course of thesun."

"Is it the sun which produces these winds?"

"Yes, the extreme heat of the sun between the tropics rarefies the airas the earth turns round, and the trade-winds are produced by therushing in of the less heated air."

"Yes, William; and the trade-winds produce what they call the Gulf
Stream," observed Ready.

"How is that? I have heard it spoken of, papa."

"The winds, constantly following the sun across the Atlantic Ocean, andblowing from east to west, have great effect upon the sea, which isforced up into the Gulf of Mexico (where it is stopped by the shores ofAmerica), so that it is many feet higher in the Gulf than in theeastern part of the Atlantic. This accumulation of water must of coursefind a vent somewhere, and it does in what is called the Gulf Stream,by which the waters are poured out, running very strong to thenorthward, along the shores of America, and then eastward, passing notfar from Newfoundland, until its strength is spent somewhere to thenorthward of the Azores."

"The Gulf Stream, William," said Ready, "is always several degreeswarmer than the sea in general, which is, they say, owing to its watersremaining in the Gulf of Mexico so long, where the heat of the sun isso great."

"What do you mean by the land and sea breezes in the West Indies, andother hot climates, papa?"

"It is the wind first blowing off from the shore, and then blowing fromthe sea towards the shore, during certain hours of the day, which itdoes regularly every twenty-four hours. This is also the effect of theheat of the sun. The sea breeze commences in the morning, and in theafternoon it dies away, when the land breeze commences, which laststill midnight."

"There are latitudes close to the trade-winds," said Ready, "where thewind is not certain, where ships have been becalmed for weeks; thecrews have exhausted the water on board, and they have suffereddreadfully. We call them the Horse latitudes - why, I do not know. Butit is time for us to leave off, and for Master William to go into thehouse."

They returned home, and after supper Ready went on with his narrative.

"I left off at the time that I was sent on board of the man-of-war, andI was put down on the books as a supernumerary boy. I was on board ofher for nearly four years, and we were sent about from port to port,and from clime to clime, until I grew a strong, tall lad, and was putinto the mizen-top. I found it very comfortable. I did my duty, and theconsequence was, I never was punished; for a man may serve on board ofa man-of-war without fear of being punished, if he only does his duty,and the duty is not very hard either; not like on board of the merchantvessels, where there are so few hands - there it is hard work. Ofcourse, there are some captains who command men-of-war who are harshand severe; but it was my good fortune to be with a very mild andsteady captain, who was very sorry when he was obliged to punish themen, although he would not overlook any improper conduct. The onlything which was a source of constant unhappiness to me was, that Icould not get to England again, and see my mother. I had written two orthree letters, but never had an answer; and at last I became soimpatient that I determined to run away the very first opportunitywhich might offer. We were then stationed in the West Indies, and I hadvery often consultations with Hastings on the subject, for he was quiteas anxious to get away as I was; and we had agreed that we would startoff together the very first opportunity. At last we anchored in PortRoyal, Jamaica, and there was a large convoy of West India ships, ladenwith sugar, about to sail immediately. We knew that if we could get onboard of one, they would secrete us until the time of sailing, for theywere short-handed enough, the men-of-war having pressed every man theycould lay their hands upon. There was but one chance, and that was byswimming on board of one of the vessels during the night-time, and thatwas easy enough, as they were anchored not a hundred yards from our ownship. What we were afraid of was the sharks, which were so plentiful inthe harbour. However, the night before the convoy was to sail we madeup our minds that we would run the risk, for we were so impatient toescape that we did not care for anything. It was in the middle watch -I recollect it, and shall recollect it all my life, as if it were lastnight - that we lowered ourselves down very softly from the bows of theship, and as soon as we were in the water we struck out for one of theWest Indiamen close to us. The sentry at the gangway saw the light inthe water made by our swimming through it, and he hailed, of course; wegave no answer, but swam as fast as we could; for after he had hailedwe heard a bustle, and we knew that the officer of the watch wasmanning a boat to send after us. I had just caught hold of the cable ofthe West Indiaman, and was about to climb up by it, for I was a fewyards before Hastings, when I heard a loud shriek, and, turning round,perceived a shark plunging down with Hastings in his jaws. I was sofrightened, that for a short time I could not move: at last I recoveredmyself, and began to climb up by the cable as fast as I could. I wasjust in time, for another shark made a rush at me; and although I wasclear out of the water more than two feet, he sprung up and just caughtmy shoe by the heel, which he took down with him. Fear gave mestrength, and in a second or two afterwards I was up at thehawse-holes, and the men on board, who had been looking over the bows,and had witnessed poor Hastings' death, helped me on board, and hurriedme down below, for the boat from our ship was now nearly alongside.When the officer of the boat came on board, they told him they hadperceived us both in the water, close to their vessel, and that thesharks had taken us down. As the shriek of Hastings was heard by thepeople in the boat, the officer believed that it was the case, andreturned to the ship. I heard the drum beat to quarters on board of theman-of-war, that they might ascertain who were the two men who hadattempted to swim away, and a few minutes afterwards they beat theretreat, having put down D. D. against my name on the books, as well asagainst that of poor Hastings."

"What does D. D. mean?"

"D. stands for discharged from the service; D. D. stands for dead,"replied Ready; "and it was only through the mercy of Providence that Iwas not so."

"It was a miraculous escape indeed," observed Mr. Seagrave.

"Yes, indeed, sir; I can hardly describe my sensations for some hoursafterwards. I tried to sleep, but could not - I was in agony. Themoment I slumbered, I thought the shark had hold of me, and I wouldstart up and shriek; and then I said my prayers and tried to go tosleep again, but it was of no use. The captain of the West Indiaman wasafraid that my shrieks would be heard, and he sent me down a tumbler ofrum to drink off; this composed me, and at last I fell into a soundsleep. When I awoke, I found that the ship was under weigh and with allcanvas set, surrounded by more than a hundred other vessels; themen-of-war who took charge of the convoy, firing guns and makingsignals incessantly. It was a glorious sight, and we were bound for OldEngland. I felt so happy, that I thought I would risk the jaws ofanother shark to have regained my liberty, and the chance of being oncemore on shore in my own country, and able to go to Newcastle and see mypoor mother."

"I am afraid that your miraculous escape did you very little good,
Ready," observed Mrs. Seagrave, "if you got over it so soon."

"Indeed, madam, it was not so; that was only the feeling which thefirst sight of the vessels under weigh for England produced upon me. Ican honestly say that I was a better and more serious person. The verynext night, when I was in my hammock, I prayed very fervently; andthere happened to be a very good old Scotchman on board, the secondmate, who talked very seriously to me, and pointed out how wonderfulhad been my preservation, and I felt it. It was he who first read theBible with me, and made me understand it, and, I may say, become fondof it. I did my duty on our passage home as a seaman before the mast,and the captain was pleased with me. The ship I was in was bound toGlasgow, and we parted company with the convoy at North Foreland, andarrived safe in port. The captain took me to the owners, who paid mefifteen guineas for my services during the voyage home; and as soon asI received the money, I set off for Newcastle as fast as I could. I hadtaken a place on the outside of the coach, and I entered intoconversation with a gentleman who sat next to me. I soon found out thathe belonged to Newcastle, and I first inquired if Mr. Masterman, theship-builder, was still alive. He told me that he had been dead aboutthree months. `And to whom did he leave his money?' I asked, `for hewas very rich, and had no kin.' `He had no relations,' replied thegentleman, `and he left all his money to build an hospital andalmshouses. He had a partner in his business latterly, and he left theyard and all the stores to him, I believe, because he did not know whomto leave it to. There was a lad whom I knew for certain he intended tohave adopted and to have made his heir - a lad of the name of Ready;but he ran away to sea, and has never been heard of since. It issupposed that he was lost in a prize, for he was traced so far. Foolishboy that he was. He might now have been a man of fortune.'

"`Very foolish indeed,' replied I.

"`Yes; but he has harmed more than himself. His poor mother, who dotedupon him, as soon as she heard that he was lost, pined away by degrees,and—'

"`You don't mean to say that she is dead?' interrupted I, seizing thegentleman by the arm.

"`Yes,' replied he, looking at me with surprise; `she died last year ofa broken heart.'

"I fell back on the luggage behind me, and should have fallen off thecoach if the gentleman had not held me. He called to the coachman topull up the horses, and they took me down, and put me inside; and asthe coach rolled on, I cried as if my heart would break."

Ready appeared so much affected, that Mr. Seagrave proposed that heshould leave off his history for the present.

"Thank you, sir, it will be better; for I feel my old eyes dim withtears, even now. It's a dreadful thing in after-life to reflect upon,that your foolish conduct has hastened the death of a most kind mother;but so it was, William, and I give you the truth for your advantage."

Chapter XL

A few mornings afterwards, Juno came in before breakfast with six eggsin her apron, which she had found in the hen-house.

"Look, Missy Seagrave - fowls lay eggs - soon have plenty - plenty forMaster William - make him well again - and plenty for chickens by andby."

"You haven't taken them all out of the nests, Juno; have you?"

"No; leave one in each nest for hen to see."

"`Well, then, we will keep them for William, and I hope, as you say,they will make him strong again."

"I am getting quite strong now, mother," replied William; "I think itwould be better to leave the eggs for the hens to sit upon."

"No, no, William; your health is of more consequence than having earlychickens."

For a few days Mr. Seagrave and Ready were employed at the gardenclearing away the weeds, which had begun to sprout up along with theseeds which had been sown; during which time William recovered veryfast. The two first days, Juno brought in three or four eggs regularly;but on the third day there were none to be found. On the fourth day thehens appeared also not to have laid, much to the surprise of Mrs.Seagrave; as when hens commence laying eggs they usually continue. Onthe fifth morning, when they sat down to breakfast, Master Tommy didnot make his appearance, and Mrs. Seagrave asked where he was.

"I suspect, madam," said Old Ready, laughing, "that Tommy will not comeeither to his breakfast or his dinner to-day."

"What can you mean, Ready?" said Mrs. Seagrave.

"Why, madam, I will tell you. I thought it very odd that there were noeggs, and I thought it probable that the hens might have laid astray;so I went about yesterday evening to search. I could not find any eggs,but I found the egg-shells, hid under some cocoa-nut leaves; and Iargued, that if an animal, supposing there was any on the island, hadtaken the eggs, it would not have been so careful to hide theegg-shells. So, this morning, I fastened up the door of the hen-house,and only left open the little sliding door, by which the fowls go in toroost; and then, after you were up, I watched behind the trees, and sawTommy come out, and go to the hen-house. He tried the door, and findingit fast, crept into the hen-house by the little sliding-door. As soonas he was in I let down the slide, and fastened it with a nail; sothere he is, caught in his own trap."

"And there shall he remain all day, the little glutton!" said Mr.
Seagrave.

"Yes, it will serve him right," replied Mrs. Seagrave; "and be a lessonto him."

Mr. Seagrave, Ready, and William, as usual, went down to their work;Mrs. Seagrave and Juno, with little Caroline, were busy indoors. Tommyremained very quiet for an hour, when he commenced roaring; but it wasof no use, no one paid any attention to him. At dinner-time he began toroar again, but with as little success: it was not till the eveningthat the door of the hen-house was opened, and Tommy permitted to comeout. He looked very foolish; and sat down in a corner without speaking.

"Well, Tommy, how many eggs did you suck to-day" said Ready.

"Tommy won't suck eggs any more," said the urchin.

"No, you had better not," replied Mr. Seagrave, "or you will find, inthe end, that you will have less to eat, instead of more, as you havethis day."

Tommy waited very quietly and very sulkily till supper was ready, whenhe made up for lost time. After which Ready continued his narrative.

"I told you, William, that I was informed by the gentleman on the coachthat my mother had died of a broken heart, in consequence of mysupposed death. I was in agony until I arrived at Newcastle, where Icould ascertain all the facts connected with her decease. When thecoach stopped, the gentleman, who had remained outside, came to thecoach door, and said to me, `If I mistake not, you are Masterman Ready,who ran away to sea; are you not?' `Yes, sir,' replied I, verysorrowfully, `I am.' `Well, my man,' said he, `cheer up; when you wentaway you were young and thoughtless, and certainly had no idea that youwould have distressed your mother as you did. It was not your going tosea, but the report of your death, which preyed so much upon her mind;and that was not your fault. You must come with me, as I have somethingto say to you.'

"`I will call upon you to-morrow, sir,' replied I; `I cannot doanything until I talk to the neighbours and visit my poor mother'sgrave. It is very true that I did not intend to distress my mother; andthat the report of my death was no fault of mine. But I cannot helpfeeling that, if I had not been so thoughtless, she would be stillalive and happy.' The gentleman gave me his address, and I promised tocall upon him next morning. I then went to the house my mother used tolive in. I knew that she was not there; yet I was disappointed andannoyed when I heard merry laughter within. I looked in, for the doorwas open; in the corner where my mother used to sit, there was amangle, and two women busily at work; others were ironing at a largetable; and when they cried out to me, `What do you want?' and laughedat me, I turned away in disgust, and went to a neighbouring cottage,the inmates of which had been very intimate with my mother. I found thewife at home, but she did not know me; and I told her who I was. Shehad attended my mother during her illness, till the day of her death;and she told me all I wished to know. It was some little relief to mymind to hear that my poor mother could not have lived, as she had anincurable cancer; but at the same time the woman told me that I wasever in her thoughts, and that my name was the last word on her lips.She also said that Mr. Masterman had been very kind to my mother, andthat she had wanted nothing. I then asked her to show me where mymother had been buried. She put on her bonnet, and led me to the grave,and then, at my request, she left me. I seated myself down by the moundof turf which covered her, and long and bitterly did I weep her lossand pray for forgiveness.

"It was quite dark when I left the spot and went back to the cottage ofthe kind woman who had attended my mother. I conversed with her and herhusband till late, and then, as they offered me a bed, I remained withthem that night. Next morning I went to keep my appointment with thegentleman whom I had met in the coach: I found by the brass plate onthe door that he was a lawyer. He desired me to sit down, and then heclosed the door carefully, and having asked me many questions, toascertain if I was really Masterman Ready, he said he was the personemployed at Mr. Masterman's death, and that he had found a paper whichwas of great consequence, as it proved that the insurance of the vesselwhich had belonged to my father and Mr. Masterman, and which had beenlost, had not been made on Mr. Masterman's share only, but upon myfather's as well, and that Mr. Masterman had defrauded my mother. Hesaid he had found the paper in a secret drawer some time after Mr.Masterman's death, and that my mother being dead, and I being supposedto be dead, he did not see any use in making known so disagreeable acircumstance; but that, now I had re-appeared, it was his duty so todo, and that he would arrange the matter for me, if I pleased, with thecorporation of the town, to whom all Mr. Masterman's property had beenleft in trust to build an hospital and almshouses. He said that theinsurance on the vessel was three thousand pounds, and that one-thirdof the vessel belonged to my father, so that a thousand pounds were dueto him, which the interest for so many years would increase to abovetwo thousand pounds. This was good news for me, and you may suppose Ireadily agreed to all he proposed. He set to work at once, and havingcalled together the mayor and corporation of the town, and proved thedocument, they immediately agreed that I was entitled to the money, andthat it should be paid to me without any contest. Thus you see, MasterWilliam, was a new temptation thrown in my way."

"How do you mean a temptation? It surely was very fortunate, Ready,"said William.

"Yes, William, it was, as people say, fortunate, according to the ideasof the world; every one congratulated me, and I was myself so inflatedwith my good fortune, that I forgot all the promises of amendment, allthe vows of leading a good life, which I made over my poor mother'sgrave. Now do you perceive why I called it a temptation, MasterWilliam?"

"My dear child," said Mr. Seagrave, "riches and prosperity in thisworld prove often the greatest of temptations; it is adversity thatchastens and amends us, and which draws us to God."

"As soon as the money was in my own hands," continued Ready, "I beganto squander it away in all manner of folly. Fortunately, I had notreceived it more than ten days, when the Scotch second mate came like aguardian angel to save me. As soon as I had made known to him what hadtaken place, he reasoned with me, pointed out to me that I had anopportunity of establishing myself for life, and proposed that I shouldpurchase a part of a vessel, on condition that I was captain of her. Iliked this idea very much, and being convinced that I had been making afool of myself, I resolved to take his advice; but one thing onlyrestrained me: I was still very young, not more than twenty years old;and although I could navigate at one time, I had latterly paid noattention. I told Sanders this, and he replied, that if I would takehim as my first mate, that difficulty would be got over, as he couldnavigate well, and that I could learn to do so in the first voyage; soall was arranged.

"Fortunately, I had not spent above one hundred pounds of the money. Iset off for Glasgow in company with Sanders, and he busied himself veryhard in looking about for a vessel that would suit. At last, he foundthat there was one ready for launching, which, in consequence of thefailure of the house for which it was built, was to be sold. He madeinquiries, and having found who was likely to purchase her - that itwas a very safe and respectable firm - he made a proposal for me that Ishould take one-fourth share of her, and command her. As Sanders wasvery respectable, and well known to be a steady man, his recommendationwas attended to so far that the parties wished to see and speak to me.They were satisfied with me, young as I was, and the bargain was made.I paid down my two thousand pounds for my share, and as soon as thevessel was launched, was very busy with Sanders, whom I had chosen asfirst mate, in fitting her out. The house which had purchased her withme was a West India firm, and the ship was of course intended for theWest India trade. I had two or three hundred pounds left, after I hadpaid my share of the vessel, and this I employed in purchasing aventure on my own account, and providing nautical instruments, &c. Ialso fitted myself out, for you see, William, although Sanders hadpersuaded me to be rational, I was still puffed up with pride at theidea of being captain of my own ship; it was too great a rise for onewho had just before been a lad in the mizen-top of a man-of-war. Idressed myself very smart - wore white shirts, and rings on my fingers.Indeed, as captain and part owner of a fine vessel, I was considered assomebody, and was often invited to the table of the other owners of thevessel. I was well off, for my pay was ten pounds a month, independentof what my own venture might produce, and my quarter-share of theprofits of the vessel. This may be considered as the most prosperousportion of my life; and so, if you please, we will leave off here forto-night, for I may as well tell you at once that it did not last verylong."

Chapter XLI

For several days after, they were employed in clearing away the stumpsof the cocoa-nut trees in the winding path to the storehouse; and assoon as that work was finished, Ready put up a lightning-conductor atthe side of the storehouse, like the one which he had put up near tothe cottage. They had now got through all the work that they hadarranged to do during the rainy season. The ewes had lambed, but boththe sheep and the goats began to suffer for want of pasture. For a weekthey had no rain, and the sun burst out very powerfully; and Ready wasof opinion that the rainy season was now over. William had become quitestrong again, and he was very impatient that they should commence thesurvey of the island. After a great deal of consultation, it was atlast settled, that Ready and William should make the first survey tothe southward, and then return and report what they had discovered.This was decided upon on the Saturday evening, and on the Mondaymorning they were to start. The knapsacks were got ready, and wellfilled with boiled salt pork, and flat cakes of bread. They were eachto have a musket and ammunition, and a blanket was folded up to carryon the shoulders, that they might sleep on it at night. Ready did notforget his compass, or the small axes, for them to blaze the trees asthey went through the wood.

The whole of Saturday was occupied in making their preparations. Aftersupper, Ready said, "Now, William, before we start on our travels, Ithink I may as well wind up my history. I haven't a great deal more totell, as my good fortune did not last long; and after my remaining solong in a French prison, my life was one continued chapter of from badto worse. Our ship was soon ready, and we sailed with convoy forBarbadoes. Sanders proved a good navigator, and from him, before wearrived at Barbadoes, I gained all the knowledge which I required toenable me to command and navigate my vessel. Sanders attempted to renewour serious conversation, but my property had made me vain; and nowthat I felt I could do without his assistance, I not only kept him at adistance, but assumed the superior. This was a very ungrateful returnfor his kindness to me; but it is too often the case in this world.Sanders was very much annoyed, and on our arrival at Barbadoes, he toldme that it was his intention to quit the vessel. I replied veryhaughtily, that he might do as he pleased; the fact is, I was anxiousto get rid of him, merely because I was under obligations to him. Well,sir, Sanders left me, and I felt quite happy at his departure. My shipwas soon with a full cargo of sugar on board of her, and we waited forconvoy to England. When at Barbadoes, I had an opportunity to buy fourbrass guns, which I mounted on deck, and had a good supply ofammunition on board. I was very proud of my vessel, as she had provedin the voyage out to be a very fast sailer: indeed, she sailed betterthan some of the men-of-war which convoyed us; and now that I had gunson board, I considered myself quite safe from any of the enemies'privateers. While we were waiting for convoy, which was not expectedfor a fortnight, it blew a very heavy gale, and my ship, as well asothers, dragged their anchors, and were driven out of Carlisle Bay. Wewere obliged to make sail to beat into the bay again, it still blowingvery fresh. What with being tired waiting so long for convoy, and theknowledge that arriving before the other West Indiamen would be veryadvantageous, I made up my mind that, instead of beating up into thebay again, I would run for England without protection, trusting to thefast sailing of my vessel and the guns which I had on board. I forgotat the time that the insurance on the vessel was made in England as`sailing with convoy', and that my sailing without would render theinsurance void, if any misfortune occurred. Well, sir, I made sail forEngland, and for three weeks everything went on well. We saw very fewvessels, and those which did chase us could not come up with us; but aswe were running with a fair wind up channel, and I had made sure ofbeing in port before night, a French privateer hove in sight and gavechase. We were obliged to haul our wind, and it blowing very fast, wecarried away our main-top mast. This accident was fatal; the privateercame alongside of us and laid us by the board, and that night I was ina French prison, and, I may say, a pauper; for the insurance of thevessel was void, from my having sailed without convoy. I felt that Ihad no one to thank but myself for the unfortunate position I was in;at all events, I was severely punished, for I remained a prisoner fornearly six years. I contrived to escape with three or four others; wesuffered dreadfully, and at last arrived in England, in a Swedishvessel, without money, or even clothes that would keep out the weather.Of course, I had nothing to do but to look out for a berth on board ofa ship, and I tried for that of second mate, but without success; I wastoo ragged and looked too miserable; so I determined, as I wasstarving, to go before the mast. There was a fine vessel in the port; Iwent on board to offer myself; the mate went down to the captain, whocame on deck, and who should he be but Sanders? I hoped that he wouldnot remember me, but he did immediately, and held out his hand. I neverdid feel so ashamed in my life as I did then. Sanders perceived it, andasked me down into the cabin. I then told him all that had happened,and he appeared to forget that I had behaved so ill to him; he offeredme a berth on board, and money in advance to fit me out. But if hewould not remember my conduct, I could not forget it, and I told himso, and begged his forgiveness. Well, sir, that good man, as long as helived, was my friend. I became his second mate before he died, and wewere again very intimate. My misfortunes had humbled me, and I oncemore read the Bible with him; and I have, I trust, done so ever since.When he died, I continued second mate for some time, and then wasdisplaced. Since that, I have always been as a common seaman on boardof different vessels; but I have been well treated and respected, and Imay add, I have not been unhappy, for I felt that property would haveonly led me into follies, and have made me forget, that in this worldwe are to live so as to prepare ourselves for another. Now, William,you have the history of Masterman Ready; and I hope that there areportions of it which may prove useful to you. To-morrow we must be offbetimes, and as we are all to breakfast early together, why, I thinkthe sooner we go to bed the better."

"Very true," replied Mr. Seagrave, "William, dear, bring me the Bible."

Chapter XLII

They were all up early the next morning, and breakfasted at an earlyhour. The knapsacks and guns, and the other requisites for the journey,were all prepared; William and Ready rose from the table, and taking anaffectionate leave of Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave, they started on theirjourney. The sun was shining brilliantly, and the weather had becomewarm; the ocean in the distance gleamed brightly, as its waters danced,and the cocoa-nut trees moved their branches gracefully to the breeze.They set off in high spirits, and having called the two shepherd dogs,and driven back Vixen, who would have joined the party, they passed thestorehouse, and ascending the hill on the other side, they got theirhatchets ready to blaze the trees; and Ready having set his course byhis pocket compass, they were fairly on their way. For some time theycontinued to cut the bark of the trees with their hatchets, withoutspeaking, and then Ready stopped again to look at his compass.

"I think the wood is thicker here than ever, Ready," observed William.

"Yes, sir, it is; but I suspect we are now in the thickest part of it,right in the middle of the island; however, we shall soon see. We mustkeep a little more away to the southward. We had better get on as fastas we can. We shall have less work by and by, and then we can talkbetter."

For half-an-hour they continued their way through the wood, and, asReady had observed, the trees became more distant from each other;still, however, they could not see anything before them but the stemsof the cocoa-nuts. It was hard work, chopping the trees every second,and their foreheads were moist with the exertion.

"I think we had better pull up for a few minutes, William; you will betired."

"I have not been so used to exercise, Ready, and therefore I feel itmore," replied William, wiping his face with his handkerchief. "Ishould like to stop a few minutes. How long do you think it will bebefore we are out of the wood?"

"Not half-an-hour more, sir, I should think; even before that,perhaps."

"What do you expect to find, Ready?"

"That's a difficult question to answer. I can tell you what I hope tofind, which is, a good space of clear ground between the beach and thewood, where we may pasture our sheep and goats; and perhaps we may findsome other trees besides cocoa-nuts: at present, you know, we have seenonly them and the castor-oil beans, that Tommy took such a dose of. Yousee, William, there is no saying what new seeds may have been broughthere by birds, or by the winds and waves."

"But will those seeds grow?"

"Yes, William; I have been told that seeds may remain hundreds of yearsunder-ground, and come up afterwards when exposed to the heat."

They continued their way, and had not walked for more than a quarter ofan hour, when William cried out, "I see the blue sky, Ready; we shallsoon be out; and glad shall I be, for my arm aches with chopping."

"I dare say it does, sir. I am just as glad as you are, for I'm tiredof marking the trees; however, we must continue to mark, or we shallnot find our way back when we want it."

In ten minutes more they were clear of the cocoa-nut grove, and foundthemselves among brushwood higher than their heads; so that they couldnot see how far they were from the shore.

"Well," said William, throwing down his hatchet, "I'm glad that's over;now let us sit down a little before we go any further."

"I'm of your opinion, sir," replied Ready, sitting down by the side ofWilliam; "I feel more tired to-day than I did when we first wentthrough the wood, after we set off from the cove. I suppose it's theweather. Come back, dogs; lie down."

"The weather is very fine, Ready."

"Yes, now it is; but I meant to have said that the rainy season is verytrying to the health, and I suppose I have not recovered from it yet.You have had a regular fever, and, of course, do not feel strong; but aman may have no fever, and yet his health suffer a great deal from it.I am an old man, William, and feel these things now."

"I think that before we go on, Ready, we had better have our dinner;that will do us good."

"Well, we will take an early dinner, and we shall get rid of one bottleof water, at all events; indeed, I think that, as we must go back bythe same way we came, we may as well leave our knapsacks and everythingbut our guns under these trees; I dare say we shall sleep here too, forI told Mr. Seagrave positively not to expect us back to-night. I didnot like to say so before your mother, she is so anxious about you."

They opened their knapsacks, and made their meal, the two dogs comingin for their share; after which they again started on theirdiscoveries. For about ten minutes they continued to force their waythrough the thick and high bushes, till at last they broke out clear ofthem, and then looked around them for a short time without speaking.The sea was about half a mile distant, and the intervening land wasclear, with fresh blades of grass just bursting out of the earth,composing a fine piece of pasture of at least fifty acres, here andthere broken with small patches of trees and brushwood; there was nosandy beach, but the rocks rose from the sea about twenty to thirtyfeet high, and were in one or two places covered with something whichlooked as white as snow.

"Well, Ready," said William, "there will be no want of pasture for ourflock, even if it increases to ten times its number."

"No," replied Ready, "we are very fortunate, and have great reason tobe thankful; this is exactly what we required; and now let us go on alittle, and examine these patches of wood, and see what they are. I seea bright green leaf out there, which, if my eyes do not fail me, I haveseen many a time before." When they arrived at the clump of trees whichReady had pointed out, he said, "Yes, I was right. Look there, this isthe banana; it is just bursting out now, and will soon be ten feethigh, and bearing fruit which is excellent eating; besides which thestem is capital fodder for the beasts."

"Here is a plant I never saw before," said William, pulling off a pieceof it, and showing it to Ready.

"But I have, William. It is what they call the bird's-eye pepper; theymake Cayenne pepper out of it. Look, the pods are just formed; it willbe useful to us in cooking, as we have no pepper left. You see,William, we must have some birds on the island; at least it is mostprobable, for all the seeds of these plants and trees must have beenbrought here by them. The banana and the pepper are the food of manybirds. What a quantity of bananas are springing up in this spot; therewill be a little forest of them in a few weeks."

"What is that rough-looking sort of shrub out there, Ready?"

"I can't see so well as you, William, so let us walk up to it. Oh, Iknow it now; it is what they call the prickly pear in the West Indies.I am very glad to have found that, for it will be very useful to us."

"Is it good eating, Ready?"

"Not particularly; and the little spikes run into your fingers, and arevery difficult to get rid of; but it is not bad by way of a change. No,the use it will be to us is to hedge in our garden, and protect it fromthe animals; it makes a capital fence, and grows very fast, and withouttrouble. Now let us go on to that patch of trees, and see what theyare."

"What is this plant, Ready?"

"I don't know, William."

"Then I think I had better make a collection of all those you don'tknow, and take them back to father; he is a good botanist."

William pulled a branch of the plant off, and carried it with him. Ontheir arrival at the next patch of trees, Ready looked at themsteadfastly for some time.

"I ought to know that tree," said he. "I have often seen it in hotcountries. Yes, it's the guava."

"What! is it the fruit they make guava jelly of?" said William.

"Yes, the very same."

"Let us now walk in the direction of those five or six trees," saidWilliam; "and from there down to the rocks; I want to find out how itis that they are so white."

"Be it so, if you wish," replied Ready.

"Why, Ready, what noise is that? Hark! such a chattering, it must bemonkeys."

"No, they are not monkeys; but I'll tell you what they are, although Icannot see them; they are parrots - I know their noise well. You see,William, it's not very likely that monkeys should get here, but birdscan, and it is the birds that we have to thank for the bananas andguavas, and other fruits we may find here."

As soon as they came under the trees, there was a great rioting andfluttering, and then away flew, screaming as loud as they could, aflock of about three hundred parrots, their beautiful green and bluefeathers glistening in the beams of the sun.

"I told you so; well, we'll have some capital pies out of them,
William."

"Pies! do they make good pies, Ready?"

"Yes, excellent; and very often have I had a good dinner from one inthe West Indies, and in South America. Stop, let us come a little thisway; I see a leaf which I should like to examine."

"The ground is very swampy just here, Ready; is it not?"

"Yes; there's plenty of water below, I don't doubt. So much the betterfor the animals; we must dig some pools when they come here.

"Oh! I thought I was not wrong. Look! this is the best thing I havefound yet - we now need not care so much about potatoes."

"Why, what are they, Ready?"

"Yams, which they use instead of potatoes in the West Indies. Indeed,potatoes do not remain potatoes long, when planted in hot climates."

"How do you mean, Ready?"

"They turn into what they call sweet-potatoes, after one or two crops:yams are better things, in my opinion."

At this moment the dogs dashed among the broad yam leaves, andcommenced baying; there was a great rustling and snorting.

"What's that?" cried William, who had been stooping down to examine theyam plant, and who was startled at the noise.

Ready laughed heartily. "It isn't the first time that they've made youjump, William."

"Why, it's our pigs, isn't it?" replied William.

"To be sure; they're in the yam patch, very busy feeding on them, I'llbe bound."

Ready gave a shout, and a grunting and rushing were heard among thebroad leaves, and, very soon, out rushed, instead of the six, aboutthirty pigs large and small; who, snorting and twisting their tails,galloped away at a great rate, until they gained the cocoa-nut grove.

"How wild they are, Ready!" said William.

"Yes, and they'll be wilder every day; but we must fence these yamsfrom them, or we shall get none ourselves."

"But they'll beat down the fence before it grows up."

"We must pale it with cocoa-nut palings, and plant the prickly pearsoutside. Now, we'll go down to the sea-side."

As they neared the rocks, which were bare for about fifty yards fromthe water's edge, Ready said, "I can tell you now what those whitepatches on the rocks are, William; they are the places where thesea-birds come to every year to make their nests, and bring up theiryoung. They always come to the same place every year, if they are notdisturbed." They soon arrived at the spot, and found it white with thefeathers of birds, mixed up with dirt.

"I see no nests, Ready, nor the remains of any."

"No, they do not make any nests, further than scratching a round hole,about half an inch deep, in the soil, and there they lay their eggs,sitting quite close to one another; they will soon be here, and beginto lay, and then we will come and take the eggs, if we want any, forthey are not bad eating."

"Why, Ready, what a quantity of good things we have found out already!
This has been a very fortunate expedition of ours."

"Yes, it has; and we may thank God for his goodness, who thus providesfor us so plentifully in the wilderness."

"Do you know, Ready, I cannot help thinking that we ought to have builtour house here."

"Not so, William; we have not the pure water, recollect, and we havenot the advantages of the sandy beach, where we have our turtle- andfish-pond. No; we may feed our stock here; we may gather the fruit,taking our share of it with the poor birds; we may get our yams, andevery other good provided for us; but our house and home must be whereit is now."

"You are right, Ready; but it will be a long walk."

"Not when we are accustomed to it, and have made a beaten path;besides, we may bring the boat round, perhaps."

Then they walked along the sea-side for about a quarter of a mile,until they came to where the rocks were not so high, and there theydiscovered a little basin, completely formed in the rocks, with anarrow entrance.

"See, William, what a nice little harbour for our boat! we may hereload it with yams and take it round to the bay, provided we can find anentrance through the reefs on the southern side of it, which we havenot looked for yet, because we have not required it."

"Yes, Ready - it is, indeed, a nice, smooth little place for the boat.What is that thing on the bottom, there?" said William, pointing in thedirection.

"That is a sea crawfish, quite as good eating as a lobster. I wonder ifI could make a lobster-pot; we should catch plenty, and very good theyare."

"And what are those little rough things on the rock?"

"They are a very nice little sort of oyster; not like those we have in
England, but much better - they are so delicate."

"Why, Ready, we have two more good things for our table, again,"replied William; "how rich we shall be!"

"Yes; but we have to catch them, recollect: there is nothing to be hadin this world without labour."

"Ready," said William, "we have good three hours' daylight; suppose wego back and tell what we have seen: my mother will be so glad to seeus."

"I agree with you, William. We have done well for one day; and maysafely go back again, and remain for another week. There are no fruitsat present, and all I care about are the yams; I should like to protectthem from the pigs. But let us go home and talk the matter over withMr. Seagrave."

They found out the spot where they had left their knapsacks andhatchets, and again took their path through the cocoa-nut trees,following the blaze which they had made in the morning. One hour beforesunset they arrived at the house, where they found Mr. and Mrs.Seagrave sitting outside, and Juno standing on the beach with the twochildren, who were amusing themselves with picking up the shells whichwere strewed about. William gave a very clear account of all they hadseen, and showed his father the specimens of the plants which he hadcollected.

"This," said Mr. Seagrave, "is a well-known plant; and I wonder Readydid not recognize it; it is hemp."

"I never saw it except in the shape of rope," replied Ready. "I knowthe seed well enough."

"Well, if we require it, I can tell you how to dress it," replied Mr.
Seagrave. "Now, William, what is the next?"

"This odd-looking, rough thing."

"That's the egg-plant: it bears fruit of a blue colour. I am told theyeat it in the hot countries."

"Yes, sir, they do; they fry it with pepper and salt; they call itbringal. I think it must be that."

"I do not doubt but you are right," replied Mr. Seagrave. "Why,
William, you should know this."

"It is like the grape-vine."

"Yes, and it is so; it is the wild grape; we shall eat them by andbye."

"I have only one more, papa: what is this?"

"You don't know it, because it has sprung up so high, William; but itis the common mustard plant, - what we use in England, and is sold asmustard and cress. I think you have now made a famous day's work of it;and we have much to thank God for."

As soon as they had returned to the house, a consultation was held asto their future proceedings; and, after some debate, it was agreed thatit would be advisable that they should take the boat out of the sand;and, as soon as it was ready, examine the reef on the southward, to seeif they could find a passage through it, as it would take a long whileto go round it; and, as soon as that was accomplished, Mr. Seagrave,Ready, William, and Juno should all go through the wood, carrying withthem a tent to pitch on the newly-discovered piece of ground: and thatthey should set up a flag-staff at the little harbour, to point out itsposition. Of course, that would be a hard day's work; but that theywould, nevertheless, return the same night, and not leave Mrs. Seagravealone with the children. Having accomplished this, Ready and Williamwould then put the wheels and axle in the boat, and other articlesrequired, such as saw, hatchets, and spades, and row round to the southside of the island, to find the little harbour. As soon as they hadlanded them, and secured the boat, they would then return by the paththrough the wood.

The next job would be to rail in the yam plantation to keep off thepigs, and, at the same time, to drive the sheep and goats through thewood, that they might feed on the new pasture ground. Ready and Williamwere then to cut down cocoa-nut trees sufficient for the paling, fix upthe posts, and when that was done, Mr. Seagrave was to come to them andassist them in railing it in, and drawing the timber. This theyexpected would be all done in about a month; and during that time, asMrs. Seagrave and Juno would be, for the greatest part of it, left atthe house, they were to employ themselves in clearing the garden ofweeds, and making preparation for fencing it in.

As soon as this important work had been completed, the boat wouldreturn to the bay with a load of prickly pears for the garden fence,and then they were to direct their attention to the stores which hadbeen saved from the wreck, and were lying in the cove where they hadfirst landed. When they had examined them, and brought round what wererequired, and secured them in the storehouse, they would then have aregular survey of the island by land and by water. But man proposes andGod disposes, as will be shown by the interruption of their intendedprojects which we shall have to narrate in the ensuing chapter.

Chapter XLIII

As usual, Ready was the first up on the following morning, and havinggreeted Juno, who followed him out of the house, he set off on hisaccustomed rounds, to examine into the stock and their otherpossessions. He was standing in the garden at the point. First hethought that it would be necessary to get ready some sticks for thepeas, which were now seven or eight inches out of the ground; he hadproceeded a little farther, to where the calivances, or French haricotbeans, had been sown, and had decided upon the propriety of hoeing upthe earth round them, as they were a very valuable article of food,that would keep, and afford many a good dish during the rainy or winterseason. He had gone on to ascertain if the cucumber seeds had shownthemselves above-ground, and was pleased to find that they were doingwell. He said to himself, "We have no vinegar, that I know of, but wecan preserve them in salt and water, as they do in Russia; it will be achange, at all events;" and then he raised his eyes and looked out tothe offing, and, as usual, scanned the horizon. He thought he saw aship to the north-east, and he applied his telescope to his eye. He wasnot mistaken - it was a vessel.

The old man's heart beat quick; he dropped his telescope on his arm,and fetched some heavy breaths before he could recover from the effectof this unexpected sight. After a minute, he again put his telescope tohis eye, and then made her out to be a brig, under top-sails andtop-gallant sails, steering directly for the island.

Ready walked to the rocky point, from which they fished, and sat downto reflect. Could it be that the vessel had been sent after them, orthat she had by mere chance come among the islands? He decided after ashort time that it must be chance, for none could know that they weresaved, much less that they were on the island. Her steering towards theisland must then be either that she required water or something else;perhaps she would alter her course and pass by them. "At all events,"thought the old man, "we are in the hands of God, who will, at his owntime and in his own way, do with us as he thinks fit. I will not atpresent say anything to Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave. It would be cruel toraise hopes which might end in disappointment. A few hours will decide.And yet I cannot do without help - I must trust William."

Ready rose, examined the vessel with his telescope, and then walkedtowards the house. William was up, and the remainder of the family werestirring.

"William," said Ready to him, as they walked away from the house, "Ihave a secret to tell you, which you will at once see the necessity ofnot telling to anyone at present. A few hours will decide thequestion." William readily gave his promise. "There is a vessel off theisland; she may be the means of rescuing us, or she may pass withoutseeing us. It would be too cruel a disappointment to your father andmother, if the latter were the case."

William stared at Ready, and for a moment could not speak, hisexcitement was so great.

"Oh, Ready, how grateful I am! I trust that we may he taken away, foryou have no idea how my poor father suffers in silence - and so does mymother."

"I know it, William, I know it, and it is natural; they do their bestto control their yearnings, and they can do no more. But now we must bequick, and at work before breakfast. But stop, I will show you thevessel."

Ready caught the vessel in the field of the telescope, which he leantagainst the trunk of a cocoa-nut, and William put his eye to the glass.

"Do you see her?"

"Oh yes, Ready, and she is coming this way."

"Yes, she is steering right for the island. I will put the telescopedown here, and we will go about our work."

William and Ready went to the storehouse for the axe. Ready selected avery slight cocoa-nut tree nearest to the beach, which he cut down, andas soon as the top was taken off with the assistance of William hecarried it down to the point.

"Now, William, go for a shovel and dig a hole here, that we may fix itup as a flag-staff. When all is ready, I will go for a small block andsome rope for halyards to hoist up the flags as soon as the vessel islikely to see them. At breakfast-time, I shall propose that you and Iget the boat out of the sand and examine her, and give Mr. Seagravesome work indoors."

"But the flags, Ready; they are round my mother's bed. How shall we getthem?"

"Suppose I say that it is time that the house should be well cleaned,and that the canvas hangings of the beds should he taken out to beaired this fine day. Ask your father to take the direction of the workwhile we dig out the boat; that will employ them all inside the house."

"Yes, that will do, Ready."

During breakfast-time, Ready observed that he intended to get the boatout of the sand, and that William should assist him.

"And what am I to do, Ready?" said Mr. Seagrave.

"Why, sir, I think, now that the rains are over, it would not be a badthing if we were to air bedding, as they say at sea; it is a fine, warmday; and if all the bedding was taken out of the house and well shaken,and then left out to air, it would be a very good job over; for yousee, sir, I have thought more than once that the house does smell alittle close."

"It will be a very good thing, Ready," observed Mrs. Seagrave; "and, atthe same time, Juno and I will give the house a thorough cleaning andsweeping."

"Had we not better have the canvas screens down, and air them too?"

"Yes," replied Ready; "we had better air everything. We will assist intaking down the screens and flags, and spread them out to air, andthen, if Mr. Seagrave has no objection, we will leave him tosuperintend and assist Madam and Juno."

"With all my heart," replied Mr. Seagrave. "We have done breakfast, andwill begin as soon as you please."

Ready and William took down the canvas screens and flags, and went outof the cottage with them; they spread out the canvas at some distancefrom the house, and then William went down to the beach with the flags,while Ready procured the block and small rope to hoist them up with.

Ready's stratagem answered well. Without being perceived by those inthe cottage, the flag-staff was raised, and fixed in the ground, andthe flags all ready for hoisting; then Ready and William returned tothe fuel-stack, and each carried down as much stuff as they could hold,that they might make a smoke to attract the notice of those on board ofthe vessel. All this did not occupy much more than an hour, duringwhich the brig continued her course steadily towards the island. WhenReady first saw her the wind was light, but latterly the breeze hadincreased very much, and at last the brig took in her top-gallantsails. The horizon behind the vessel, which had been quite clear, wasnow banked up with clouds, and the waves curled in white foam over thereefs of rocks extending from the island.

"The breeze is getting up strong, William," said Ready, "and she willsoon be down, if she is not frightened at the reefs, which she can seeplainer now the water is rough, than she could before."

"I trust she will not be afraid," replied William. "How far do youthink she is off now?"

"About five miles; not more. The wind has hauled round more to thesouthward, and it is banking up fast, I see. I fear that we shall haveanother smart gale; however, it won't last long. Come, let us hoist theflags; we must not lose a chance; the flags will blow nice and clearfor them to see them."

William and Ready hoisted up the ensign first, and below it the flag,with the ship's name, Pacific, in large letters upon it. "Now then,"said Ready, as he made fast the halyards, "let us strike a light andmake a smoke; that will attract their notice."

As soon as the cocoa-nut leaves were lighted, Ready and William threwwater upon them, so as to damp them and procure a heavy column ofsmoke. The vessel approached rapidly, and they were watching her insilent suspense, when they perceived Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave, Junocarrying Albert, with Tommy and Caroline running down as fast as theycould to the beach. The fact was, that Tommy, tired of work, had goneout of the house and walked towards the beach; there he perceived,first, the flags hoisted, and then he detected the vessel off theisland. He immediately ran back to the house, crying out, "Papa! Mamma!Captain Osborn come back - come back in a big ship." At thisannouncement, Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave ran out of the house, perceived thevessel and the flags flying, and ran as fast as they could down towhere William and Ready were standing by the flag-staff.

"Oh! Ready, why did you not tell us this before?" exclaimed Mr.
Seagrave.

"I wish you had not known it now, sir," replied Ready; "but, however,it can't be helped; it was done out of kindness, Mr. Seagrave."

"Yes, indeed it was, papa."

Mrs. Seagrave dropped down on the rock, and burst into tears. Mr.
Seagrave was equally excited.

"Does she see us, Ready?" exclaimed he at last.

"No, sir, not yet, and I waited till she did, before I made it known toyou," replied Ready.

"She is altering her course, Ready," said William.

"Yes, sir, she has hauled to the wind; she is afraid of coming too nearto the reefs."

"Surely she is not leaving us!" exclaimed Mrs. Seagrave.

"No, madam; but she does not see us yet."

"She does! she does!" cried William, throwing up his hat; "see, shehoists her ensign."

"Very true, sir; she does see us. Thanks be to God!"

Mr. Seagrave embraced his wife, who threw herself sobbing into hisarms, kissed his children with rapture, and wrung old Ready's hand. Hewas almost frantic with joy. William was equally delighted.

As soon as they were a little more composed, Ready observed: "Mr.Seagrave, that they have seen us is certain, and what we must now do isto get our own boat out of the sand. We know the passage through thereefs, and they do not. I doubt if they will, however, venture to senda boat on shore, until the wind moderates a little. You see, sir, it isblowing up very strong just now."

"But you don't think it will blow harder, Ready?"

"I am sorry to say, sir, that I do. It looks very threatening to thesouthward, and until the gale is over, they will not venture near anisland so surrounded with rocks. It would be very imprudent if theydid. However, sir, a few hours will decide."

"But, surely," said Mrs. Seagrave, "even if it does blow, they will notleave the island without taking us off. They will come after the galeis over."

"Yes, madam, if they can, I do think they will; but God knows, some menhave hard hearts, and feel little for the misery of others."

The brig had, in the meantime, kept away again, as if she was runningin; but very soon afterwards she hauled to the wind, with her head tothe northward, and stood away from the island.

"She is leaving us," exclaimed William, mournfully.

"Hard-hearted wretches!" said Mr. Seagrave, with indignation.

"You are wrong to say that, sir," replied Ready: "excuse me, Mr.Seagrave, for being so bold; but the fact is, that if I was in commandof that vessel, I should do just as they have done. The gale risesfast, and it would be very dangerous for them to remain where they noware. It does not at all prove that they intend to leave us; they butconsult their own safety, and, when the gale is over, we shall, Itrust, see them again."

No reply was made to Ready's judicious remarks. The Seagraves only sawthat the vessel was leaving them, and their hearts sank. They watchedher in silence, and as she gradually diminished to the view, so didtheir hopes depart from them. The wind was now fierce, and a heavysquall, with rain, obscured the offing, and the vessel was no longer tobe distinguished. Mr. Seagrave turned to his wife, and mournfullyoffered her his arm. They walked away from the beach without speaking;the remainder of the party, with the exception of old Ready, followedthem. Ready remained some time with his eyes in the direction where thevessel was last seen. At last he hauled down the ensign and flag, and,throwing them over his shoulder, followed the disconsolate party to thehouse.

Chapter XLIV

When Ready arrived, he found them all plunged in such deep distress,that he did not consider it advisable to say anything. The eveningclosed in; it was time to retire. The countenance of Mr. Seagrave wasnot only gloomy, but morose. The hour for retiring to rest had longpassed when Ready broke the silence by saying, "Surely, you do notintend to sit up all night, Mr. Seagrave?"

"Oh, no! there's no use sitting up now," replied Mr. Seagrave, risingup impatiently. "Come, my dear, let us go to bed."

Mrs. Seagrave rose, and retired behind the canvas screen. Her husbandseemed as if he was about to follow her, when Ready, without speaking,laid the Bible on the table before him. Mr. Seagrave did not appear tonotice it; but William touched his father's arm, pointed to the book,and then went inside of the screen, and led out his mother.

"God forgive me!" exclaimed Mr. Seagrave. "In my selfishness anddiscontent I had forgotten—"

"Yes, sir, you had forgotten those words, `Come unto me, all ye who areweary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'"

"I am ashamed of myself," said Mrs. Seagrave, bursting into tears.

Mr. Seagrave opened the Bible, and read the psalm. As soon as he hadclosed the book, "good night" were all the words that passed, and theyall retired to rest.

During the night, the wind howled and the rain beat down. The childrenslept soundly, but Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave, Ready, and William were awakeduring the whole of the night, listening to the storm, and occupiedwith their own thoughts.

Ready was dressed before daylight, and out on the beach before the sunhad risen. The gale was at its height; and after a careful survey withhis telescope, he could see nothing of the vessel. He remained on thebeach till breakfast-time, when he was summoned by William, andreturned to the house. He found Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave up, and morecomposed than they were the evening before; and they welcomed himwarmly.

"I fear, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave, "that you have no good news forus."

"No, sir; nor can you expect any good news until after the gale isover. The vessel could not remain here during the gale - that iscertain; and there is no saying what the effects of the gale may be.She may lie to, and not be far from us when the gale is over; or shemay be obliged to scud before the gale, and run some hundred miles fromus. Then comes the next chance. I think, by her running for the island,that she was short of water; the question is, then, whether she may notfind it necessary to run for the port she is bound to, or water at someother place. A captain of a vessel is bound to do his best for theowners. At the same time I do think, that if she can with proprietycome back for us she will. The question is, first, whether she can;and, secondly, whether the captain is a humane man, and will do so athis own inconvenience."

"There is but poor comfort in all that," replied Mr. Seagrave.

"It is useless holding out false hopes, sir," replied Ready; "but evenif the vessel continues her voyage, we have much to be thankful for."

"In what, Ready?"

"Why, sir, no one knew whether we were in existence or not, andprobably we never should have been searched for; but now we have madeit known, and by the ship's name on the flag they know who we are, and,if they arrive safe in port, will not fail to communicate theintelligence to your friends. Is not that a great deal to be thankfulfor? We may not be taken off by this vessel, but we have every hopethat another will be sent out to us."

"Very true, Ready; I ought to have seen that before; but my despair anddisappointment were yesterday so great, that it almost took away myreason."

The gale continued during the day, and showed no symptoms of abatement,when they again retired for the night. The following day Ready was upearly, as usual, and William accompanied him to the beach.

"I don't think that it blows so hard as it did, Ready."

"No, William, it does not; the gale is breaking, and by night, I haveno doubt, will be over. It is, however, useless looking for the vessel,as she must be a long way from this. It would take her a week, perhaps,to come back to us if she was to try to do so, unless the wind shouldchange to the northward or westward."

"Ready! Ready!" exclaimed William, pointing to the south-east part ofthe reef; "what is that? Look! it's a boat."

Ready put his telescope to his eye. "It's a canoe, William, and thereare people in it."

"Why, where can they have come from? See! they are among the breakers;they will be lost. Let us go towards them, Ready."

They hastened along the beach to the spot nearest to where the canoewas tossing on the surf, and watched it as it approached the shore.

"William, this canoe must have been blown off from the large island,which lies out there;" and Ready again looked through his telescope:"there are two people in it, and they are islanders. Poor things! theystruggle hard for their lives, and seem much exhausted; but they havepassed through the most dangerous part of the reef."

"Yes," replied William, "they will soon be in smoother water; but thesurf on the beach is very heavy."

"They won't mind that, if their strength don't fail them - they managethe canoe beautifully."

During this conversation the canoe had rapidly come towards the land.In a moment or two afterwards, it passed through the surf and groundedon the beach. The two people in it had just strength enough left topaddle through the surf, and then they dropped down in the bottom ofthe canoe, quite exhausted.

"Let's drag the canoe higher up, William. Poor creatures! they arenearly dead."

While dragging it up, Ready observed that the occupants were bothwomen: their faces were tattooed all over; otherwise they were young,and might have been good-looking.

"Shall I run up and get something for them, Ready?"

"Do, William; ask Juno to give you some of whatever there is forbreakfast; anything warm."

William soon returned with some thin oatmeal porridge, which Juno hadbeen preparing for breakfast; and a few spoonfuls being forced down thethroats of the two natives they gradually revived. William then leftReady, and went up to acquaint his father and mother with thisunexpected event.

William soon returned with Mr. Seagrave, and as the women were now ableto sit up, they hauled up the canoe as far as they could, to preventher being beat to pieces. They found nothing in the canoe, except apiece of matting and the two paddles which had been used by thenatives.

"You see, sir," said Ready, "it is very clear that these two poorwomen, having been left in charge of the canoe, have been blown offfrom the shore of one of the islands to the south-east; they must havebeen contending with the gale ever since the day before yesterday, and,as it appears, without food or water. It's a mercy that they gainedthis island."

"It is so," replied Mr. Seagrave; "but to tell the truth, I am not overpleased at their arrival. It proves what we were not sure of before,that we have very near neighbours, who may probably pay us a veryunwelcome visit."

"That may be, sir," replied Ready; "still these two poor creaturesbeing thrown on shore here does not make the matter worse, or thedanger greater. Perhaps it may turn to our advantage; for if thesewomen learn to speak English before any other islanders visit us, theywill interpret for us, and be the means, perhaps, of saving our lives."

"Would their visit be so dangerous, then, Ready?"

"Why, sir, a savage is a savage, and, like a child, wishes to obtainwhatever he sees; especially he covets what he may turn to use, such asiron, &c. If they came, and we concealed a portion, and gave up theremainder of our goods, we might escape; but still there is no trustingto them, and I would infinitely prefer defending ourselves againstnumbers to trusting to their mercy."

"But how can we defend ourselves against a multitude?"

"We must be prepared, sir: if we can fortify ourselves, with ourmuskets we would be more than a match for hundreds."

Mr. Seagrave turned away. After a pause he said, "It is not verypleasant to be now talking of defending ourselves against savages, whenwe hoped two days ago to be leaving the island. Oh, that that brigwould make its appearance again!"

"The wind is going down fast, sir," observed Ready; "it will be fineweather before the evening. We may look out for her; at all events, forthe next week I shall not give up all hopes."

"A whole week, Ready! Alas! how true it is, that hope deferred makeththe heart sick."

"It is a severe trial, Mr. Seagrave; but we must submit when we arechastened. We had better get these poor creatures up to the house, andlet them recover themselves."

Ready then beckoned to them to get on their feet, which they both did,although with some difficulty. He then went in advance, making a signfor them to follow; they understood him, and made the attempt, but wereso weak, that they would have fallen if they had not been supported byMr. Seagrave and William.

It required a long time for them to arrive at the house. Mrs. Seagrave,who knew what had happened, received them very kindly, and Juno had amess ready, which she put before them. They ate a little and then laydown, and were soon sound asleep.

"It is fortunate for us that they are women," observed Mr. Seagrave:"we should have had great difficulty had they been men."

"Yes, sir," replied Ready; "but still we must not trust women too muchat first, for they are savages."

"Where shall we put them to-night, Ready?"

"Why, sir, I have been thinking about that. I wish we had a shed closeto us; but as we have not, we must let them sleep in the storehouse."

We must now pass over a space of fifteen days, in which there wasnothing done. The expectation of the vessel returning was still alive,although each day decreased these hopes. Every morning Ready andWilliam were at the beach with the telescope, and the whole of the daywas passed in surmises, hopes, and fears. In fact, the appearance ofthe vessel and the expectation of leaving the island had completelyoverturned all the regularity and content of our island party. No othersubject was broached - not any of the work proposed was begun, as itwas useless to do anything if they were to leave the island. After thefirst week had passed, they felt that every day their chances were moreadverse, and at the end of the fortnight all hopes were veryunwillingly abandoned.

The Indian women had, in the meantime, recovered their fatigues, andappeared to be very mild and tractable. Whatever they were able to do,they did cheerfully, and had already gained a few words of English. Theparty to explore was again talked over, and arranged for the followingMonday, when a new misfortune fell on them, which disconcerted alltheir arrangements.

On the Saturday morning, when Ready, as usual, went his rounds, as hewalked along the beach, he perceived that the Indian canoe was missing.It had been hauled up clear of the water, so that it could not havefloated away. Ready's heart misgave him; he looked through histelescope in the direction of the large island, and thought he coulddistinguish a speck on the water at a great distance. As he was thusoccupied, William came down to him.

"William," said Ready, "I fear those island women have escaped in theircanoe. Run up, and see if they are in the outhouse, or anywhere else,and let me know as soon as you can."

William in a few minutes returned, breathless, stating that the womenwere not to be found, and that they had evidently carried away withthem a quantity of the large nails and other pieces of iron which werein the small kegs in the storehouse.

"This is bad, William; this is worse than the vessel not coming back."

"Why, we can do without them, Ready."

"Yes; but when they get back to their own people, and show them theiron they have brought with them, and describe how much more there isto be had, depend upon it, we shall have a visit from them in numbers,that they may obtain more. I ought to have known better than to leavethe canoe here. We must go and consult with Mr. Seagrave, for thesooner we begin to work now, the better."

They communicated the intelligence to Mr. Seagrave when they wereoutside. He at once perceived their danger, so they held a council, andcame to the following resolutions:—

That it would be necessary that they should immediately stockade thestorehouse, so as to render it impossible for any one to get in; andthat, as soon as the fortification was complete, the storehouse shouldbe turned into their dwelling-house; and such stores as could not beput within the stockade should be removed to their present house, orconcealed in the cocoa-nut grove.

It was decided that nothing should be begun on that day, Saturday; thatSunday should be spent in devout prayer for help and encouragement fromthe Almighty, who would do towards them as his wisdom should ordain;and that on Monday, with the blessing of God, they would recommencetheir labour.

"I don't know why, but I feel more courage now that there is a prospectof danger, than I felt when there was little or none," said Mrs.Seagrave.

"How little do we know what the day may bring forth!" exclaimed Mr.Seagrave. "How joyful were our anticipations when the vessel hoistedher colours! we felt sure that we were to be taken off the island. Thesame gale that drove the vessel away brought down to us the islandwomen. The fair weather after the gale, which we hoped would havebrought back the vessel to our succour, on the contrary enabled thewomen to escape in the canoe, and make known our existence to those whomay come to destroy us. How true it is that man plans in vain; and thatit is only by the Almighty will and pleasure that he can obtain hisends!"

Chapter XLV

But although they resolved as stated in the last chapter, nothing wasdone. Finally, one morning at sunrise, as they were looking round withthe telescope, close to the turtle-pond, Masterman Ready said to Mr.Seagrave, "Indeed, sir, we must no longer remain in this state ofidleness; I have been thinking a great deal of our present position andprospects; as to the vessel coming back, we must, at present, give upall hopes of it. I only wish that we were quite as sure that we shallnot have a visit from the savages: that is my great fear, and it reallyhaunts me; the idea of our being surprised some night, and Mrs.Seagrave and the dear children, perhaps, murdered in their beds, isawful to reflect upon."

"God help us!" exclaimed Mr. Seagrave, covering up his face.

"God will help us, Mr. Seagrave, but at the same time it is necessarythat we should help ourselves; he will give his blessing to ourexertions, but we cannot expect that miracles will be performed for us;and if we remain as we now are, inactive, and taking no steps to meetthe danger which threatens us, we cannot expect the divine assistance.We have had a heavy shock, but it is now time that we recover from it,and put our own shoulders to the wheel."

"I agree with you, Ready," replied William; "indeed I have beenthinking the same thing for many days past."

"We have all been thinking of it, I believe," said Mr. Seagrave; "I'msure I have lain awake night after night, considering our position andwhat we ought to do, but I have never been able to come to anysatisfactory resolution."

"No more have I till last night, Mr. Seagrave, but I think that I havenow something to propose which, perhaps, will meet with your approval,"replied Ready; "so now, sir, suppose we hold another council, and cometo a decision."

"I am most willing, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave, sitting down upon arock; "and as you are the oldest, and moreover the best adviser of thethree, we will first hear what you have to propose."

"Well then, Mr. Seagrave, it appears to me that it will not do toremain in the house, for we may, as I have said, be surprised by thesavages at any hour in the night, and we have no means of defenceagainst numbers."

"I feel that, and have felt it for some time," replied Mr. Seagrave.
"What shall we do, then; shall we return to the cove?"

"I should think not, sir," said Ready; "what I propose is this: we havemade a discovery on the south of the island, which is of greatimportance to us; not that I consider the fruit and other plants of anygreat value, as they will only serve to increase our luxuries, if I mayso call them, during the summer season. One great advantage to us, isthe feed which we have found for our live stock, and the fodder forthem during the rainy season; but principally, the patch of yams, whichwill afford us food during the winter. They are of great importance tous, and we cannot too soon protect them from the pigs, which willcertainly root them all up, if we do not prevent them. Now, sir, youknow what we had arranged to do, but which we have not done; I thinkthe cocoa-nut rails will take too much time, and it will be sufficientto make a ditch and hedge round the yams; but it will be very tediousif we are to go backwards and forwards to do the work, and Mrs.Seagrave and the children will be left alone. I therefore propose, asthe weather is now set in fair, and will remain so for months, that wepitch our tents on that part of the island, and remove the whole familythere; we shall soon be very comfortable, and at all events much saferthere than if we remain here, without any defence,"

"It is an excellent plan, Ready; we shall, as you say, be removed fromdanger for the time, and when there, we may consider what we had bestdo by and by."

"Yes, sir. Those women may not have gained the other island, it istrue, for they had the wind right against them for several days afterthey went away in the canoe, and, moreover, the current sets strongthis way; but if they have, we must expect that the savages will pay usa visit; they will, of course, come direct to the house, if they docome."

"But, Ready, you don't mean to say that we are to leave this side ofthe island altogether, and all our comfortable arrangements?" saidWilliam.

"No, William, not altogether; for now I come to the second part of myproposition. As soon as we have done our work at the yam plantation,and made everything as comfortable there as we can, I think we may thenleave Mrs. Seagrave and the children in the tents, and work here, As webefore agreed, let us abandon the house in which we live at present,and fit out the outhouse which is concealed in the cocoa-nut grove, asa dwelling-house, and fortify it so as to be secure against any suddenattack of the savages: for, return here we must, to live, as we cannotremain in the tents after the rainy season sets in."

"How do you propose to fortify it, Ready?" said Mr. Seagrave; "I hardlyknow."

"That I will explain to you by and by, sir. Then, if the savages comehere, at all events we should be able to defend ourselves withfire-arms; one man behind a stockade is better than twenty who have noother arms but spears and clubs; and we may, with the help of God, beatthem off."

"I think your plan is excellent, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave, "and thatthe sooner we begin, the better."

"That there is no doubt of, sir. Now, the first job is for William andme to try for the passage through this side of the reef with the boat,and then we will look for the little harbour which we discovered; assoon as that is done, we will return and take the tents and all werequire round in the boat, and when we have pitched the tents and allis arranged, Mrs. Seagrave and the children can walk through the woodwith us, and take possession."

"Let us not lose an hour, Ready; we have lost too much time already,"replied Mr. Seagrave. "What shall we do to-day?"

"After breakfast, William and I will take the boat, and try for thepassage. You can remain here, packing up the tents and such articles asmust first be carried round. We shall be back, I hope, by dinner-time."

They then rose, and walked towards the house; all felt relieved intheir minds, after they had made this arrangement, satisfied that theywould be using all human endeavours to ward off the danger whichthreatened them, and might then put their confidence in that Providencewho would, if he thought fit, protect them in their need.

Chapter XLVI

The subject was introduced to Mrs. Seagrave, while they were atbreakfast, and as she perceived how much more secure they would be, shecheerfully consented. In less than an hour afterwards, William andReady had prepared the boat, and were pulling out among the rocks ofthe reef to find a passage, which, after a short time, and by keepingtwo or three cables from the point, they succeeded in doing.

"This is very fortunate, William," observed Ready; "but we must nowtake some marks to find our way in again. See, the large black rock ison a line with the garden point: so, if we keep them in one, we shallknow that we are in the proper channel; and now for a mark abreast ofus, to find out when we enter it."

"Why, Ready, the corner of the turtle-pond just touches the right wallof the house," replied William.

"So it does; that will do; and now let us pull away as hard as we can,so as to be back in good time."

They soon were on the south side of the island, and pulling up alongthe shore.

"How far do you think that it is by water, Ready?"

"I hardly know; but at least four or five miles, so we must make up ourminds to a good hour's pull. At all events, we shall sail back againwith this wind, although there is but little of it."

"We are in very deep water now," observed William, after a longsilence.

"Yes, on this side of the island we must expect it; the coral grows toleeward only. I think that we cannot be very far from the littleharbour we discovered. Suppose we leave off rowing for a minute, andlook about us."

"There are two rocks close to the shore, Ready," said William,pointing, "and you recollect there were two or three rocks outside ofthe harbour."

"Very true, William, and I should not wonder if you have hit upon thevery spot. Let us pull in."

They did so; and, to their satisfaction, found that they were in theharbour, where the water was as smooth as a pond.

"Now, then, William, we will step the mast, and sail back at ourleisure."

"Stop one moment, Ready; give me the boat-hook. I see something betweenthe clefts of the rocks."

Ready handed the boat-hook to William, who, lowering it down into thewater, drove the spike of iron at the end of it into a large crayfish,which he hauled up into the boat.

"That will be an addition to our dinner," said Ready; "we do not goback empty-handed, and, therefore, as the saying is, we shall be morewelcome; now, then, let us start, for we must pull here again thisafternoon, and with a full cargo on board."

They stepped the mast, and as soon as they had pulled the boat clear ofthe harbour, set sail, and in less than an hour had rejoined the partyat the house.

William had brought up the crayfish, which had only one claw, and Junoput on another pot of water to boil it, as an addition to the dinner,which was nearly ready. Tommy at first went with his sister Caroline tolook at the animal, and as soon as he had left off admiring it, hebegan, as usual, to tease it; first he poked its eyes with a stick,then he tried to unfold his tail, but the animal flapped, and he ranaway. At last he was trying to put his stick into the creature's mouth,when it raised its large claw, and caught him by the wrist, squeezinghim so tight that Tommy screamed and danced about as the crayfish heldon. Fortunately for him, the animal had been so long out of water, andhad been so much hurt by the iron spike of the boat-hook, that it wasmore than half-dead, or he would have been severely hurt. Ready ran tohim, and disengaged the crayfish; but Tommy was so frightened, that hetook to his heels, and did not leave off running until he was onehundred yards from the house, while Juno and Ready were laughing at himtill the tears came into their eyes. When he saw the crayfish on thetable, he appeared to be afraid of it, although it was dead.

"Well, Tommy," said Mr. Seagrave, "I suppose you won't eat any of thecrayfish?"

"Won't I?" replied Tommy. "I'll eat him, for he tried to eat me."

"Why did you not leave the animal alone, Tommy?" said Mr. Seagrave; "ifyou had not tormented it, it would not have bitten you; I don't knowwhether you ought to have any."

"I don't like it; I won't have any," replied Tommy. "I like salt porkbetter."

"Well, then, if you don't like it, you shall not have it forced uponyou, Tommy," replied Mr. Seagrave; "so now we'll divide it among therest of us."

Tommy was not very well pleased at this decision, for he really didwish to have some of it, so he turned very sulky for the rest of thedinner-time, especially when old Ready told him that he had had hisshare of the crayfish before dinner.

Chapter XLVII

As soon as the meal was over, Mr. Seagrave and Juno assisted them incarrying down the canvas and poles for the tent, with shovels to clearaway, and the pegs to fix the tents up properly. Before they started,William observed, "I think it would be a good thing, if Ready and Iwere to take our bedding with us, and then we could fix up one tentthis evening, and sleep there; to-morrow morning we might set up theother, and get a good deal of work over before we come back."

"You are right, William," replied Ready; "let us see what Juno can giveus to eat, and then we will do as you say, for the sooner we are allthere the better."

As Mr. Seagrave was of the same opinion, Juno packed up a piece of saltpork and some flour-cakes, which, with three or four bottles of water,they took down to the boat. Ready having thrown in a piece of rope tomoor the boat with, they shoved off and were soon through the reef,and, after a smart pull, they arrived again at the small harbour.

As soon as they had landed all the things, they made the boat fast bythe rope, and then carried a portion of the canvas and tent-poles up tothe first copse of trees, which were the guavas; they then returned forthe remainder, and after three trips everything was up.

"Now, William, we must see where to pitch the tent; we must not be toonear the cocoa-nut grove, or we shall have too far to go for water."

"Don't you think that the best place will be close to the bananas? theground is higher there, and the water is, you know, between the bananasand the yams."

"Very true, I think it will not be a bad place; let us walk therefirst, and reconnoitre the ground."

They walked to where the bananas were now throwing out their beautifullarge green leaves, and decided that they would fix the tents upon thenorth side of them.

"So here let it be," said Ready; "and now let us go and fetch all thethings; it is a nice dry spot, and I think will do capitally."

They were soon hard at work, and long before sunset one tent was ready,and they had put their bedding in it.

"Well, now, I suppose you are a little tired," said Ready; "I'm sureyou ought to be, for you have worked hard to-day."

"I don't feel very tired, Ready, but it's not time to go to bed yet."

"No; and I think we had better take our shovels and dig the pits forthe water, and then we shall know by to-morrow morning whether thewater is good or not."

"Yes, Ready, we can do that before we get our supper."

They walked to where the ground between the bananas and yam patch waswet and swampy, and dug two large holes about a yard deep and square;the water trickled in very fast, and they were up to their anklesbefore they had finished.

"There'll be no want of water, Ready, if it is only fit to drink."

"I've no fear of that," replied Ready.

They returned to the tent and made their supper off the salt pork andflour-cakes, and then lay down on the mattresses. They were soon fastasleep, for they were tired out with the hard work which they had gonethrough.

The next morning, at sunrise, they were up again; the first thing theydid was to go and examine the holes they had dug for water; they foundthem full and running over, and the water had settled quite clear; theytasted it, and pronounced it very good.

As soon as they had washed themselves, they went back and made theirbreakfast, and then set to work to get up the other tent. They thencleared all the ground near the tents of brushwood and high grass, andlevelled it nicely with their shovels inside.

"Now, William, we have another job, which is to prepare a fireplace for
Juno: we must go down to the beach for stones."

In another hour the fireplace was completed, and Ready and Williamlooked at their work.

"Well, I call this a very comfortable lodging-house," said Ready.

"And I am sure," replied William, "it's very pretty. Mamma will bedelighted with it."

"We shall have no want of bananas in a few weeks," said Ready; "look,they are all in blossom already. Well, now I suppose we had betterleave everything here, and go back. We must have another trip thisafternoon, and sleep here to-night."

They went down to the boat, and sailed back as before; by ten o'clockin the morning they had regained the house, and then they madearrangements for their work during the remainder of the day. It wasagreed that the provisions necessary for a day or two, the table andchairs, the cooking utensils, and a portion of their clothes, should betaken round that afternoon, that Ready and William should come backearly the next morning, and then they should all set off togetherthrough the wood to the new location. The sheep and lambs (for they hadfour lambs), the goats and kids, were to be driven through the wood byMr. Seagrave; William and Ready and the dogs would be very useful indriving them. As for the fowls and chickens, it was decided they shouldbe left, as Ready and William could look after them on their occasionalvisits.

Chapter XLVIII

The boat was well loaded that afternoon, and they had a heavy pullround, and hard work afterwards to carry all the articles up. Williamand Ready were, therefore, not sorry when their work was done, and theywent to bed as soon as they had taken their supper.

At sunrise, they went back to the bay in the boat, which they hauledup, and then proceeded to the house, where they found that everyone wasready to start. Mr. Seagrave had collected all the animals, and theyset off; the marks on the trees were very plain, and they had nodifficulty in finding their way; but they had a good deal of troublewith the goats and sheep, and did not get on very fast. It was threehours before they got clear of the cocoa-nut grove, and Mrs. Seagravewas quite tired out. At last they arrived, and Mr. and Mrs. Seagravecould not help exclaiming "How beautiful!"

When they came to where the tents were pitched by the side of thebananas, they were equally pleased: it was quite a fairy spot. Mrs.Seagrave went into her tent to repose after her fatigue; the goats andsheep were allowed to stray away as they pleased; the dogs lay down,panting with their long journey; Juno put Albert on the bed while shewent with William to collect fuel to cook the dinner; Ready went to thepits to get some water, while Mr. Seagrave walked about, examining thedifferent clumps of trees with which the meadow was studded.

When Ready returned with the water, he called the dogs, and went backtowards the yam plantation. Tommy followed them; the dogs went into theyams, and were soon barking furiously, which pleased Tommy very much;when, of a sudden, out burst again in a drove all the pigs, followed bythe dogs, and so close to Tommy that he screamed with fright, andtumbled head over heels.

"I thought you were there, my gentlemen," said Ready, looking after thepigs; "the sooner we fence you out the better."

The pigs scampered away, and went into the cocoa-nut grove as they haddone before. The dogs followed the pigs, and did not return for a longwhile afterwards.

It was late before the dinner was ready, and they were all very glad togo early to bed.

At day dawn, William and Ready had again started, and walked throughthe cocoa-nut grove back to the house, to bring round in the boat thearticles of furniture and the clothes which had been left. Havingcollected everything in the house, and procured some more pork andflour from the storehouse, they completed the load by spearing one ofthe turtles which remained, and putting it into the bottom of the boat;they then set off again for their new residence, and arrived in timefor breakfast.

"What a delightful spot this is!" said Mrs. Seagrave. "I think we oughtalways to make it our summer residence, and only go back to the houseduring the rainy season."

"It is much cooler here, madam, during the summer, and much morepleasant; but we are more protected in the house by the cocoa-nutgrove."

"Yes; that is true, and it is very valuable during the rainy season;but it makes it warmer in the summer time. I like the change, Ready,and shall be sorry when we have to go back again."

"Now I must go, and help Juno to cut up the turtle," said Ready. "Wemust make our larder among the banana trees."

"But what are we all to do, Ready?" said Mr. Seagrave. "We must not beidle."

"No, sir; but I think we must give up this day to putting everything torights, and making everything comfortable inside the tents; to-morrowwe will commence the ditch and hedge round the yam plantation. We neednot work very hard at it, for I don't think the pigs will venture hereagain, as I mean to tie up all the dogs round the yam patch everynight, and their barking will keep them off."

"That will be a very good plan, Ready. What beautiful food there is forthe sheep and goats!"

"Yes; this must be their future residence for the best part of theyear. I think to-morrow we will begin a piece of the ditch, and showWilliam how to put in the cuttings of prickly pear for the hedge, andthen, I should propose that you and I go to the cove to examine thestores and select what it will be necessary to bring round. I think yousaid that you must go yourself?"

"Yes, Ready, I wish to go. When we have made our selection, I willreturn, and then you and William, who is more used to the boat than Iam, can bring the stores round. I presume we shall not bring themhere?"

"No, sir, we will take them round to the storehouse. When we have donethat job, we must then commence our alterations and our stockade."

Chapter XLIX

The next morning they went with their shovels to the yam plantation,and commenced their work. As the ground was soft and swampy, the labourwas very easy. The ditch was dug nearly a yard wide, and the earththrown up on a bank inside. They then went to where the large patch ofprickly pears grew, and cut a quantity, which they planted on the topof the bank. Before night, they had finished about nine or ten yards ofthe hedge and ditch.

"I don't think that the pigs will get over that when it is finished,"said Ready, "and William will be able to get on by himself when we aregone, as well as if we were with him."

"I'll try if I cannot shoot a pig or two," said William.

"Let it be a young one, then; we must not kill the old ones. Now Ithink we may as well go back. Juno is carrying in the supper."

Before Mr. Seagrave and Ready started on the following morning, thelatter gave William directions as to the boat. The provisions and theknapsack having been already prepared, they took leave of Mrs.Seagrave, and set off, each armed with a musket, and Ready with his axeslung over his shoulder. They had a long walk before them, as they hadfirst to find their way back to the house, and from thence had to walkthrough the wood to the cove.

In two hours after leaving the house they reached the spot where theyhad first landed. The rocks near to it were strewed with timber andplanks, which lay bleaching in the sun, or half-buried in the sand. Mr.Seagrave sat down, and sighed deeply as he said, "Ready, the sight ofthese timbers, of which the good ship Pacific was built, recallsfeelings which I had hoped to have dismissed from my mind; but I cannothelp them rising up. The remains of this vessel appear to me as thelast link between us and the civilised world, which we have been tornfrom, and all my thoughts of home and country, and I may say all mylonging for them, are revived as strong as ever."

"And very natural that they should, Mr. Seagrave; I feel it also. I amcontent, it is true, because I have nothing to wish or look forward to;but still I could not help thinking of poor Captain Osborn and myshipmates, as I looked upon the wreck, and wishing that I might takethem by the hand again. It is very natural that one should do so. Why,sir, do you know that I feel unhappy even about the poor ship. Wesailors love our vessels, especially when they have good qualities, andthe Pacific was as fine a vessel as ever was built. Now, sir, I feelquite melancholy when I see her planks and timbers lying about here.But, sir, if we cannot help feeling as we do, it is our duty to checkthe feeling, so that it does not get the mastery over us. We can do nomore."

"Very true, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave, rising up; "it is not onlyuseless, but even sinful to indulge in them, as they only can lead toour repining at the decrees of heaven. Let us now examine the rocks,and see if anything has been thrown up that may be of use to us."

They walked round, but, with the exception of spars and a barrel or twoof tar, they could find nothing of value. There was no want of stavesand iron hoops of broken casks, and these, Ready observed, would makeexcellent palings for the garden when they had time to bring themround.

After they had returned, they sat down to rest themselves, and thenthey went to the tents in the cocoa-nut grove, in which they hadcollected the articles thrown up when the ship went to pieces.

"Why, the pigs have been at work here!" said Ready; "they havecontrived to open one cask of flour somehow or another; look, sir - Isuppose it must have been shaky, or they could not have routed into it;the canvas is not good for much, I fear; fortunately, we have severalbolts of new, which I brought on shore. Now, sir, we will see whatcondition the stores are in. All these are casks of flour, and we runno risk in opening them, and seeing if they are in good order."

The first cask which was opened had a cake round it as hard as a board;but when it was cut through with the axe, the inside was found in agood state.

"That's all right, sir; and I presume the others will be the same; thesalt water has got in so far and made a crust, which has preserved therest. But now let us go to dinner, and to work afterwards."

Chapter L

After dinner they resumed their labour. "I wonder what's in this case?"said Mr. Seagrave, pointing to the first at hand. Ready set to workwith his axe, and broke off the lid, and found a number of pasteboardboxes full of tapes, narrow ribbons, stay-laces, whalebones, andcottons on reels.

"This has been sent out for some Botany Bay milliner," said Mr.
Seagrave. "I presume, however, we must confiscate it for the benefit of
Mrs. Seagrave and Miss Caroline. We will take them to them as soon as
we have time."

The next was a box without a lock; the lid was forced up, and theyfound a dozen half-gallon square bottles of gin stored in divisions.

"That's Hollands, sir, I know," said Ready; "what shall we do with it?"

"We will not destroy it, Ready, but at the same time we will not use itbut as a medicine," replied Mr. Seagrave; "we have been so long used tospring-water, that it would be a pity to renew a taste for spirituousliquors."

"I trust we shall never want to drink a drop of it, sir, either as amedicine or otherwise. Now for this cask with wooden hoops."

The head was soon out, and discovered a dinner set of painted chinawith gold edges.

"This, Mr. Seagrave, may be useful, for we are rather short of platesand dishes. Common white would have served as well."

"And be more suitable with our present outfit," replied Mr. Seagrave.

"Here's a box with your name on it, sir," said Ready; "do you know whatis in it?"

"I have no idea, Ready; but your axe will decide the point."

When the box was opened, everything appeared in a sad mouldy state fromthe salt water which had penetrated; but on removing the brown paperand pasteboard, it was found to contain stationery of all sorts, and,except on the outside, it was very little injured.

"This is indeed a treasure, Ready. I recollect now; this is paper,pens, and everything requisite for writing, besides children's books,copy-books, paint-boxes, and a great many other articles in thestationery line."

"Well, sir, that is fortunate. Now we may set up our school, and as thewhole population of the island will attend it, it will really be aNational School."

"Very true, Ready. Now for that cask."

"I can tell what that is by the outside; it is oil, and veryacceptable, for our candles are nearly out. Now we come to the mostvaluable of all our property."

"What is that, Ready?"

"All the articles which I brought on shore in the different trips Itook in the boat before the ship went to pieces; for you see, sir, irondon't swim, and, therefore, what I looked after most was ironware ofall sorts, and tools. Here are three kegs of small nails, besides twobags of large, and there are several axes, hammers, and other tools,besides hanks of twine, sailing needles, and bees'-wax."

"They are indeed valuable, Ready."

"Here's some more of my plunder, as the Americans say. All these arewash-deck buckets, this a small harness cask for salting meat, andhere's the cook's wooden trough for making bread, which will pleaseMiss Juno; and in it, you see, I have put all the galley-hooks, ladles,and spoons, and the iron trivets, and here's two lamps. I think I putsome cotton wicks somewhere - I know I did; we shall find them by andby. Here's the two casks, one of cartridges made up, and the other ofgunpowder, and the other six muskets."

"These are really treasures, Ready, and yet how well we have donewithout them."

"Very true, sir, but we shall do better with them, and when we fit upthe storehouse for a dwelling, Mr. Seagrave, we shall be able to makeit a little more comfortable in every respect than the present one; foryou see there, all the fir-planking and deals, which William and Iburied in the sand."

"I really had quite forgotten them, Ready. If I could but get the fearof the savages coming over out of my head, I really think we might livevery comfortably even on this island."

"Do you know, Mr. Seagrave, I am glad to hear you say that, for itproves that you are more contented and resigned than you were."

"I am so, Ready - at least I think so; but perhaps it is, that theimmediate danger from the savages so fills my thoughts, that I nolonger dwell so much upon our being taken off the island."

"I dare say it is as you state, sir; but now let us go on with oursearch. Here are the ship's compasses, and deep sea line and reel, alsothe land lead. The stuff will be very useful for our little boat."

"And I am very glad of the compasses, Ready; for with them I shall beable to make a sort of survey of the island, when I have a little time.Your pocket compass is too small for surveying. I shall take somebearings now, while I am here, as I may not be back again very soon."

"Well, sir, I think if we open this other case, which I perceive hasyour name on it, it will be as much as we need do to-day, for the sunis going down; we can then make up some kind of bed, eat our suppers,and go to sleep."

"I am very tired, Ready, and shall be glad to do as you propose. Thatcase contains books; but what portion of my library I do not know."

"But you soon will, sir," replied Ready, wrenching it open with hisaxe. "They are a little stained on the outside, but they are jammed sotight that they do not appear to have suffered much. Here are one ortwo, sir."

"Plutarch's Lives. I am glad I have them: they are excellent readingfor young or old; there is no occasion to open any more, as I know allthe other books in the case are `History'; perhaps the best case whichcould have been saved."

Chapter LI

Mr. Seagrave and Ready then set to work, and made a rough sort of bedof cocoa-nut branches; and, after eating their supper, committedthemselves to the divine protection, and went to sleep. The nextmorning they resumed their labour, and opened every other case andpackage that had been saved from the wreck; they found more hooks, fourboxes of candles, three casks of rice, and several other usefularticles, besides many others which were of no value to them.

A chest of tea, and two bags of coffee, which Ready had brought onshore, were, much to their delight, found in good order; but there wasno sugar, the little which they had saved having been melted away.

"That's unfortunate, sir."

"We cannot expect to get things here, as though we were a hundred yardsfrom a grocer's shop. Now let us go to where we covered up the otherarticles with sand."

The sand was shovelled up, and the barrels of beef and pork and thedeal boards found in good order, but many other things were quitespoilt. About noon they had finished, and as they had plenty of time,Mr. Seagrave took the bearings of the different points of land with thecompasses. They then shouldered their muskets, and set off on theirreturn.

They gained the house in the bay, and having rested a little while atthe storehouse, they proceeded on their way to the tents in the meadow.They had about half a mile to go, when Ready heard a noise, and made asign to Mr. Seagrave to stop. Ready, whispering to Mr. Seagrave thatthe pigs were all close to them, loaded his musket; Mr. Seagrave didthe same, and they walked very softly to where they now heard theirgrunting; they did not see them till they were within twenty yards, andthen they came upon the whole herd; the pigs raised their heads; theold ones gave a loud grunt, and then, just as Ready fired his musket,they all set off at full speed. Mr. Seagrave had no opportunity offiring, but Ready had shot one, which lay kicking and struggling undera cocoa-nut tree.

"A piece of fresh pork will be quite a treat, Mr. Seagrave," said
Ready, as they walked up to where the animal was lying.

"It will, indeed, Ready," replied Mr. Seagrave; "we must contrive tocarry the beast home between us."

"We will sling it on the musket, sir, and it will not be very heavy. Itis one of those born on the island, and a very fine fellow for hisage."

The pig was soon slung, and they carried it between them. As theycleared the wood, they perceived Mrs. Seagrave and William, who hadheard the report of the musket, and had come out to meet them.

William took the load from his father, who walked on with Mrs.
Seagrave.

"Well, William, what news have you?" said Ready.

"Why, very good, Ready. Yesterday evening, when I was tired of work, Ithought I would take the boat, and try if there was any fish to hecaught on this side of the island in the deep water, and I caught threelarge ones, quite different from those we took among the reefs. We hadone for breakfast and dinner to-day, and it was excellent."

"Did you go out in the boat by yourself?"

"No; I took Juno with me. She pulls very well, Ready."

"She is a handy girl, William. Well, we have had our survey, and therewill be plenty of work for you and me, I can tell you; I don't think wecan bring everything round in a week; so I suppose to-morrow we hadbetter be off."

"Well, I like boating better than ditching, I can tell you, Ready,"replied William. "I shan't be sorry to leave that work to my father."

"I suppose it must fall to him; as he will, of course, prefer stayingwith Mrs. Seagrave and the children."

As soon as they were at the tents, Ready hung up the pig to the crosspole of the tent in which he and William and Mr. Seagrave slept, andhaving propped the muskets up against the side of the tent, he wentwith William to get his knife and some stretchers of wood to open thepig with. While he and William were away, Caroline and Tommy came outto look at it, and Tommy, after telling Caroline how glad he was thatthey were to have roast pig for dinner, took up one of the muskets, andsaid, "Now, Caroline, I'll shoot the pig."

"Oh! Tommy, you must not touch the gun," cried Caroline; "papa will bevery angry."

"I don't care," replied Tommy. "I'll show you how to shoot the pig."

"Don't, Tommy," cried Caroline; "if you do, I'll go and tell mamma."

"Then I'll shoot you," replied Tommy, trying to point the musket ather.

Caroline was so frightened, that she ran away as fast as she could, andthen Tommy, using all his strength, contrived to get the musket up tohis shoulder, and pulled the trigger.

It so happened that Tommy had taken up Mr. Seagrave's musket, which hadnot been fired, and when he pulled the trigger it went off, and as hedid not hold it tight to his shoulder, it recoiled, and hit him withthe butt right on his face, knocking out two of his teeth, besidesmaking his nose bleed very fast.

Tommy was so astonished and frightened at the musket going off, and theblow which he received, that he gave a loud yell, dropped the musket,and ran to the tent where his father and mother were, just as they hadstarted up and had rushed out at hearing the report.

When Mrs. Seagrave saw Tommy all covered with blood, and screaming soloud, she was so alarmed that she could not stand, and fell fainting inMr. Seagrave's arms. Ready and William, on hearing the musket go off,had run as fast as they could, fearing that some accident had happened;and while Mr. Seagrave supported his wife, Ready went to Tommy, andwiping the blood off his face with the palm of his hand, perceived thatthere was no wound or serious mischief, and cried out to Mr. Seagrave,"He's not hurt, sir; it's only his nose bleeding."

"Musket knocked me down," cried Tommy, sobbing as the blood ran out ofhis mouth.

"Serve you right, Tommy; you'll take care not to touch the musketagain."

"I won't touch it again," cried Tommy, blubbering.

Juno now came up with some water to wash his face; Mrs. Seagrave hadrecovered, and gone back into the tent, on Mr. Seagrave telling herthat it was only Tommy's nose which was bleeding.

In about half-an-hour Tommy had ceased crying, and his nose had leftoff bleeding; his face was washed, and then it was discovered that hehad lost two front teeth, and that his cheek and lips were very muchbruised. He was undressed, and put to bed, and was soon fast asleep.

"I should not have left the muskets," said Ready to William; "it was myfault; but I thought Tommy had been told so often not to touchfire-arms, that he would not dare to do so."

"He pointed it at me, and tried to shoot me," said Caroline, "but I ranaway."

"Merciful heavens! what an escape!" cried Mrs. Seagrave.

"He has been well punished this time, madam, and I'll venture to say hewill not touch a musket again in a hurry."

"Yes; but he must be punished more," said Mr. Seagrave. "he mustremember it."

"Well, sir, if he is to be punished more, I think you cannot punish himbetter than by not allowing him to have any of the pig when it iscooked."

"I think so too, Ready; and therefore that is a settled thing - no pigfor Tommy."

Chapter LII

The next morning Tommy's face presented a very woeful appearance. Hischeek and lips were swelled and black, and the loss of his two frontteeth made him look much worse.

Tommy looked very glum when he came to breakfast. There was the pig'sfry for breakfast, and the smell of it had been very inviting to Tommy;but when his father scolded him, and told him that he was not to haveone bit of the pig, he began to cry and roar so loud, that he was sentaway from the tents till he had left off.

After breakfast, Ready proposed that he and William should take theboat, and begin their labour of carrying the articles round from thecove to the bay where the house was, pointing out that there was not aday to be lost. Juno had, at his request, already baked a large pieceof the pig for them to take with them, and boiled a piece of salt pork,so that they were all ready to start.

"But, Ready," said Mrs. Seagrave, "how long do you intend to remainabsent with William?"

"Why, madam, this is Wednesday; of course we shall be back on Saturdaynight."

"My dear William, I cannot bear the idea of your being absent so long,and as you will be on the water every day, I shall be in a continualfright until I see you again."

"Well, mamma, I suppose I must write by the penny post, to let you knowhow I am."

"Don't laugh at me, William. I do wish there was a penny post, and thatyou could write every day."

Ready and William made every preparation for a continued absence. Theytook their blankets with them, and a small pot for cooking, and whenall was prepared they bade Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave farewell. They werenow to pull to the bay, and leave their luggage, and then go round tothe cove. As they shoved off, William took the dog Remus into the boat.

"Why do you take the dog, William? he will be of use here in keepingthe pigs away, but of no use to us."

"Yes, he will, Ready; I must take him; for I have an idea come into myhead, so let me have my own way."

"Well, William, you can always have your own way, as far as I'mconcerned; if you wish to take the dog, there is an end of the matter."

They hoisted the sail, and as the breeze was fresh, were round to thebay in a very short time. They took their provisions and stores up tothe house, and made fast the door, called the fowls, and gave them somedamaged rice which Ready had brought from the cove, and found, to theirgreat delight, that they had now upwards of forty chickens; some,indeed, quite grown, and large enough to kill.

They then got into the boat again, and pulled away for the cove; thewind was fresh, and against them, so they had a long pull; but, asReady observed, it was much better that it should be so, as, when theboat was loaded, they could very quickly sail back again to the bay.

As soon as they arrived at the cove, they lost no time in loading theboat; the nails, and iron work of every description, with the twine andtools, composed the major part of the first cargo; and calling Remus,who was lying on the sandy beach, they shoved off, hoisted their sail,and in an hour had regained the bay, and passed through the reef.

"I am glad that this cargo has arrived safe, William, for it is veryvaluable to us. Now we will take them all up, and that will besufficient for to-day; to-morrow, if we can, we will make two trips."

"We can, if we start early," replied William; "but now let us have ourdinner, and carry the remainder of the things up afterwards."

As they were eating their dinner, and William was giving the bones tothe dog, Ready said, "Pray, William, what was the idea in your headwhich made you bring Remus with you?"

"I will tell you, Ready; I mean him to carry a letter to mamma; youknow that he always goes back when he is ordered, and now I wish to seeif he will not go back to the tents, if he is told. I have brought apiece of paper and pencil with me."

William then wrote on the paper,

"Dear Mamma:—We are quite well, and just returned with the first cargoquite safe. Your affectionate son, WILLIAM."

William tied the paper round the dog's neck with a piece of twine, andthen calling him out of the house, said to him, "Remus, go back, sir -go back, sir;" the dog looked wistfully at William, as if not sure ofwhat he was to do, but William took up a stone, and pretended to throwit at the dog, who ran away a little distance, and then stopped.

"Go back, Remus - go back, sir." William again pretended to throw thestone, repeating the order, and then the dog set off as fast as hislegs could carry him through the cocoa-nut grove.

"He is gone at all events," said William; "I think he will go home."

"We shall see, sir," replied Ready; "and now that we have finished ourdinner, we will bring up the things, and put them in the storehouse."

Chapter LIII

As soon as they had carried up the whole of the cargo, they secured theboat, and went up to the house to sleep. Just as they went in, Remuscame bounding up to them with a letter round his neck.

"Here's the dog, William," said Ready; "he won't go home after all."

"How provoking! I made sure he would go back; I really am disappointed.
We will give him nothing to eat, and then he will; but, dear me, Ready!
this is not the paper I tied round his neck. I think not. Let me see."
William took the paper, opened it, and read—

"Dear William:—Your letter arrived safe, and we are glad you are well.
Write every day, and God bless you; it was very clever of you and
Remus. Your affectionate mother, SELINA SEAGRAVE."

"Well, it is clever," said Ready; "I'm sure I had no idea he had gone;and his coming back again, too, when he was ordered."

"Dear Remus, good dog," said William, caressing it: "now I'll give youa good supper, for you deserve it."

"So he does, sir. Well, you've established a post on the island, whichis a great improvement. Seriously, William, it may prove very useful."

"At all events it will be a great comfort to my mother."

"Yes, especially as we shall be obliged all three to be here when wefit up the storehouse, and make the proposed alterations. Now I thinkwe had better go to bed, for we must be up with the lark to-morrow."

"Here I suppose we ought to say, up with the parrots; for they are theonly land birds on the island."

"You forget the pigeons; I saw one of them in the wood the other day.
Good night!"

The next morning, they were off before breakfast. The boat was soonloaded, and they returned under sail. They then breakfasted, and havingleft the things they had brought on the beach, that they might lose notime, they set off again, and returned with another cargo two hoursbefore dusk; this they landed, and then secured the boat. As soon asthey were in the house, William wrote on a piece of paper:—

"Dear Mamma:— We have brought round two cargoes to-day. All well, andvery tired. Yours, WILLIAM."

Remus did not require any teaching this time. William patted him, andsaid, "Good dog. Now, Remus, go back - go home, sir;" and the dogwagged his tail, and set off immediately.

Before they were in bed, the dog returned with the answer.

"How fast he must run, Ready! he has not been away more than twohours."

"No. So, now, Remus, you shall have plenty of supper, and plenty ofpatting and coaxing, for you are a clever, good little dog."

The next day, as they had to take the two cargoes up to the house, theycould only make one trip to the cove. On Saturday they only made onetrip, as they had to return to the tents, which they did by water,having first put a turtle into the boat; on their arrival, they foundthem all at the little harbour, waiting to receive them.

"Well, William, you did keep your promise and send me a letter bypost," said Mrs. Seagrave. "How very delightful it is! I shall have nofear now when you are all away."

"I must teach Romulus and Vixen to do the same, mamma."

"And I'll teach the puppies," said Tommy.

"Yes, Tommy; by the time you can write a letter, the puppies will beold enough to carry it," said Ready. "Come, Albert, I'll carry you up;you and I haven't had a game of play for a long while. How does theditch and hedge get on, Mr. Seagrave?"

"Pretty well, Ready," replied Mr. Seagrave; "I have nearly finished twosides. I think by the end of next week I shall have pretty wellinclosed it."

"Well, sir, you must not work too hard, there is no great hurry;
William and I can get through a great deal together."

"It is my duty to work, Ready; and I may add, it is a pleasure."

As they were at supper the conversation turned upon the clevernessshown by the dog Remus.

Mr. Seagrave narrated many instances of the sagacity of animals, whenWilliam asked the question of his father: "What is the difference thenbetween reason and instinct?"

"The difference is very great, William, as I will explain to you; but Imust first observe, that it has been the custom to say that man isgoverned by reason, and animals by instinct, alone. This is an error.Man has instinct as well as reason; and animals, although chieflygoverned by instinct, have reasoning powers."

"In what points does man show that he is led by instinct?"

"When a child is first born, William, it acts by instinct only: thereasoning powers are not yet developed; as we grow up, our reasonbecomes every day more matured, and gains the mastery over ourinstinct, which decreases in proportion."

"Then when we have grown to a good old age, I suppose we have noinstinct left in us?"

"Not so, my dear boy; there is one and a most powerful instinctimplanted in man which never deserts him on this side of the grave. Itis the fear, not of death, but of utter annihilation, that of becomingnothing after death. This instinctive feeling could not have been sodeeply implanted in us, but as an assurance that we shall not beannihilated after death, but that our souls shall still exist, althoughour bodies shall have perished. It may be termed the instinctiveevidence of a future existence."

"That is very true, Mr. Seagrave," observed Ready.

"Instinct in animals, William," continued Mr. Seagrave, "is a feelingwhich compels them to perform certain acts without previous thought orreflection; this instinct is in full force at the moment of theirbirth; it was therefore perfect in the beginning, and has never varied.The swallow built her nest, the spider its web, the bee formed itscomb, precisely in the same way four thousand years ago, as they donow. I may here observe, that one of the greatest wonders of instinctis the mathematical form of the honeycomb of the bee, which has beenproved by demonstration to be that by which is given the greatestpossible saving of time and labour."

"But that is all pure instinct, papa; now you said that animals hadreasoning powers. Will you point out to me how they show that theyhave?"

"I will, my dear boy; but we had better defer it till another evening.
It is now time to go to bed."

Chapter LIV

The following day, being Sunday, was devoted to the usual religiousexercises. Tommy stole away out of the tent, while Mr. Seagrave wasreading a sermon, to have a peep at the turtle-soup, which was boilingon the fire; however, Juno suspected him, and had hold of him just ashe was taking the lid off the pot. He was well scolded, and very muchfrightened lest he should have no soup for his dinner; however, as itwas not a very heavy offence, he was forgiven.

In the evening, William requested his father to renew the conversationabout the reasoning powers of animals.

"With pleasure, William," replied Mr. Seagrave; "it is a fit discoursefor a Sunday evening. Let us, however, first examine the various mentalfaculties discoverable in animals. In the first place, they havememory, especially memory of persons and places, quite as tenacious asour own. A dog will recognize an old master after many years absence.An elephant, who had again escaped into the woods, after twenty yearsremaining in a wild state, recognized his old mahoot, or driver. A dogwill find his way back when taken more than a hundred miles from hismaster's residence. Another proof of memory in animals, were itrequired, is that they dream. Now, a dream is a confused recollectionof past events; and how often do you not hear Romulus and Remusgrowling, barking, and whining in their sleep!"

"Very true, papa."

"Well, then, they have attention. See how patiently a cat will remainfor hours before a hole, in watch for the mouse to come out. A spiderwill remain for months watching for the fly to enter its web; but thisquality is to be observed in every animal in the pursuit of its prey.They have also association of ideas, which is, in fact, reasoning. Adog proves that; he will allow a gentleman to come up to the door, butfly at a beggar. When he is in charge of any property he will take nonotice of a passer-by; but if a man stops, he barks immediately. In theelephant this association of ideas is even more remarkable; indeed, heunderstands what is said to him better than any other animal; hisreasoning powers are most extraordinary. Promise him rewards, and hewill make wonderful exertion. He is also extremely alive to a sense ofshame. The elephants were employed to transport the heavy artillery inIndia. One of the finest attempted in vain to force a gun through aswamp. `Take away that lazy beast,' said the director `and bringanother.' The animal was so stung with the reproach, that it used somuch exertion to force the gun on with its head, as to fracture itsskull, and it fell dead. When Chunee, the elephant which was so long inExeter Change, was ordered as usual to take up a sixpence with histrunk, it happened one day that the sixpence rolled against theskirting-board, out of his reach. Chunee stopped, and reflected alittle while, and then, drawing the air into his trunk, he threw it outwith all his force against the skirting-board; the rebound of the airfrom the skirting-board blew the sixpence towards him, and he wasenabled to reach it."

"That was very clever of him," replied William.

"Yes; it was a proof of thought, with a knowledge of cause and effect.There was a curious instance of a horse, which, by the bye, I considerthe most noble animal of creation, which was ridden round by hismaster, to deliver newspapers. He invariably stopped at the doors wherepapers were to be left; but it happened that two people, living atdifferent houses, took in a weekly newspaper between them; and it wasagreed, that one should have the first reading of it on one week, andthe other on the following. After a short time the horse becameaccustomed to this arrangement, and stopped at the one house on the oneweek, and at the other house on the following, never making a mistake."

"That was very curious; what a sagacious animal he must have been!"observed William.

"Animals also are, as you know, capable of receiving instruction, whichis another proof of reasoning powers. The elephant, the horse, the dog,the pig, even birds may be taught a great deal."

"But then, papa, I still wish to know where the line is to be drawnbetween reason and instinct."

"I was about to come to that very point, William. When animals followtheir instinct in providing their food, bringing up their young, and intheir precautions against danger, they follow certain fixed rules, fromwhich they never deviate. But circumstances may occur against whichtheir instinct can afford them no regular provision; then it is thattheir reasoning powers are called into action. I will explain this bystating a fact relative to the bee, one of the animals upon whichinstinct is most powerful in its action. There is a certain large moth,called the Death's-head moth, which is very fond of honey. It sometimescontrives to force its way through the aperture of the hive, and gainan entrance. The bees immediately attack it, and it is soon destroyedby their stings; but the carcass is so large, that they cannot carry itout of the hive, as they invariably do the bodies of the smallerinsects which may have intruded, and it appears that their sense ofsmell is very acute. What, then, do they do to avoid the stench arisingfrom the dead body of this large moth? Why, they embalm it, covering itentirely with wax, by which it no longer becomes offensive to them."

"But, papa, might not their instinct have provided for such an event?"observed William.

"If such an event could have occurred to the bees in their wild state,you certainly might have raised the question; but recollect, William,that bees in their wild state live in the hollows of trees, and thatthe hole by which they enter is never more than sufficiently large toadmit one bee at a time; consequently, no animal larger than a beecould gain entrance, and if it did, could of course have been easilyremoved from the hive; but the bees were here in a new position, in anartificial state, in a hive of straw with a large aperture, andtherefore met with an exigence they were not prepared for, and actedaccordingly."

"Yes, papa, I perceive the difference."

"I will conclude my observations with one remark. It appears to me,that although the Almighty has thought proper to vary the intellectualand the reasoning powers of animals in the same way that he has variedthe species and the forms, yet even in this arrangement he has not beenunmindful of the interest and welfare of man. For you will observe,that the reasoning powers are chiefly, if not wholly, given to thoseanimals which man subjects to his service and for his use - theelephant, the horse, and the dog; thereby making these animals of morevalue, as the powers given to them are at the service and under thecontrol of man."

Chapter LV

On the Monday morning, William and Ready went away in the boat, asbefore, to bring round the various articles from the cove. It had beenarranged that they were not to return till the Saturday evening, andthat the dog Remus was to bring intelligence of them and their welfareevery afternoon. They worked hard during the week, and on Saturday theyhad completed their task; with the exception of a portion of thetimbers of the ship, everything had been brought round, but had notbeen carried up to the storehouse, as that required more time.

On Saturday morning, they went for the last time to the cove, and Readyselected some heavy oak timber out of the quantity which was lying onthe beach, part of which they put into the boat, and the remainder theytowed astern. It was a heavy load, and although the wind was fair tosail hack again to the bay, the boat went but slowly through the water.

"Well, William," said Ready, "we have done a good week's work, and Imust say it is high time that it is done; for the boat is in rather acrazy condition, and I must contrive to patch her up by and by, whenthere is time."

"We shall not want to use her very much after this, Ready," repliedWilliam; "a few trips round to the little harbour will be all that willbe required before we come back again to our old quarters."

"That's true, William; but she leaks very much, and at all events I'llgive her a coat of pitch as soon as possible. For a slight-built littlething as she is, she has done hard duty."

"Pray, Ready, why, when you speak of a ship or boat, do you always callit she?"

"Well, William, I don't know why, but it is certain that we sailorsalways do so. I believe it is because a sailor loves his ship. His shipis his wife, is a very common saying with us; and then you see, MasterWilliam, a vessel is almost a thing of life in appearance. I believethat's the reason, and of course if a vessel is she, a little boat mustbe a she also."

"Well, I think you have explained it very well, Ready. I suppose onMonday we shall set to at the storehouse, and alter it for our futureresidence?"

"Can't begin too soon, William," replied Ready; "I don't doubt but Mr.Seagrave has finished the hedge and ditch round the yams by this time,and if so, I expect Madam will not like to be left in the tents alonewith Juno and the children, and so we shall all move back to the houseagain until we have altered the storehouse; I must say that I wouldrather your mamma remained in the tents until all was finished."

"Because you are afraid of a visit from the savages, Ready?"

"I am, sir, and that's the truth."

"But, Ready, if they do come, we shall see them coming, and would itnot be better that we should all be together, even if we are obliged toconceal ourselves in consequence of not being prepared? Suppose thesavages were to overrun the island, and find my mother, my littlebrother, and sister, defenceless, at the time we were obliged toretreat from our house; how dreadful that would be!"

"But I counted upon retreating to the tents."

"So we can all together, unless we are surprised in the night."

"That we must take care not to be. There's not three hours' dark inthis season of the year. Well, William, I doubt not you may be right,and if they are all with us, Juno will be a great help, and we shallget through our work the faster."

"We had better let the question be decided by my father and mother."

"Very true, William; here's the point at last. We will haul the timberon the beach, and then be off as fast as we can, for it is gettinglate."

It was, indeed, much later than they had usually arrived at the littleharbour, owing to the heavy load, which made the boat so long in cominground from the cove; and when they pulled in, they found Mr. and Mrs.Seagrave and the children all waiting for them.

"You are very late, William," said Mrs. Seagrave. "I was quite uneasytill I saw the boat at a distance."

"Yes, mamma; but we could not help it; we had a heavy load to bringround, and now our work is done."

"I am delighted to hear it, William; for I cannot bear you being awayso long."

"And my work is done," said Mr. Seagrave; "the hedge and ditch werefinished this morning."

"Well, then," observed Ready, "we must hold another council, but Ipresume it will not take very long."

"No; I expect not; it seldom does when people are of the same mind.Mrs. Seagrave won't be left here, Ready, and I don't want to leave her,so I presume on Monday we all start home again."

"Yes, sir; if you please," replied Ready.

"Juno, I hope you have a good supper," said William; "for I'm veryhungry."

"Yes, Massa William; plenty fried fish; Massa catch 'em this morning."

Chapter LVI

The next day being Sunday was a day of repose, and as they had allworked so hard, they felt the luxury of a day of rest. In theafternoon, they agreed that on Monday they should make everypreparation for quitting the tents, and returning to the house at thebay. They decided that the live stock should all be left there, as thepasturage was so plentiful and good, with the exception of one goat,which they would take back with them, to supply them with milk; andthey also agreed that the tents should be left standing, with somecooking utensils, that in case William and Ready went round for thebananas or yams, or to examine the live stock, they should not becompelled to sleep in the open air, and should have the means ofdressing their dinner. William and Ready were to carry the beds, etc.,round to the bay in the boat, which they could do in two trips, and Mr.and Mrs. Seagrave, with the family, were to walk through the woodsafter taking a very early breakfast.

All these points being arranged, they had finished their supper, whenWilliam again brought up the conversation about animals, as he wasdelighted to bear Mr. Seagrave talk on the subject. The conversationhad not commenced more than a few minutes, when William said—

"Papa, they always say `as stupid as an ass'. Is an ass such a stupidanimal?"

"No, William; it is a very sagacious one; but the character has beengiven to the animal more on account of its obstinacy anduntractableness, than on any other account. It is usual to say, asstupid as an ass, or as stupid as a pig, or a goose. Now, these threeanimals are very much maligned, for they are all sagacious animals. Butthe fact is that, as regards the ass, we have only very sorry specimensof the animal in England; they are stunted and small, and, from want ofcorn and proper food, besides being very ill-treated, are slow anddull-looking animals. The climate of England is much too cold for theass; in the south of France and the Mediterranean, where it is muchwarmer, the ass is a much finer animal; but to see it in perfection wemust go to the Torrid Zone in Guinea, right on the equator, the hottestportion of the globe, where the ass, in its native state and in itsnative country, is a handsome creature and as fleet as the wind;indeed, supposed to be, and mentioned in the Scriptures as the fleetestanimal in creation. The fact is, that in Asia, especially in Palestineand Syria, asses were in great repute, and used in preference tohorses. We must see an animal in its own climate to form a trueestimate of its value."

"Does climate, then, make so great a difference?" said William.

"Of course it does, not only with animals, but with trees, plants, andeven man, until he is accustomed to the change. With respect toanimals, there are some which can bear the different varieties ofclimate, and even change of food. The horse, for instance, althoughoriginally indigenous to Arabia, lives as well in the Temperate, andeven in the Frigid Zones it may be said, for they endure the hardwinters of Russia and North America; so will domestic cattle, such ascows, sheep, pigs, &c. It is a curious fact that, during the winter inCanada, a large proportion of the food of cattle consists of fish."

"Fish, papa! Cows eat fish?"

"Yes, my dear boy, such is the fact. It is a remarkable instance of agraminivorous or grass-eating animal being changed for a time into aflesh-eating, or rather into fish-eating animal. But there are otheranimals which can live under any temperature, as the wolf, the fox, thehare, and rabbit. It is a curious provision, - that the sheep and goatsin the hottest climates throw off their warm covering of wool, andretain little better than hair; while, removed to a cold climate, theyrecover their warm covering immediately."

"But a goat has no wool, papa."

"What are Cashmere shawls made of, William?"

"Very true, papa."

"Most animals have a certain increase of covering as they recedefurther from the warm climates to the cold ones. Wolves and foxes,hares and rabbits, change the colour of their skins to white when theyget far north. The little English stoat, which is destroyed by thegamekeepers, becomes the beautiful snow-white ermine in Russia andother cold countries."

"Well, papa, I think it a great advantage to man, and a proof of theAlmighty's care of him and kindness to him, in permitting all theanimals most useful to him to be able to live in any country; but Idon't know whether I am wrong in saying so, papa: I cannot see why ananimal like the wolf should not have been kept to his own climate, likethe lion and tiger, and other ferocious animals."

"You have started a question, William, which I am glad you have done,rather than it should have remained on your mind, and have puzzled you.It is true that the shepherd might agree with you, that the wolf is anuisance; equally true that the husband man may exclaim, What is thegood of thistles, and the various weeds which choke the soil? But, mydear boy, if they are not, which I think they are, for the benefit ofman, at all events they are his doom for the first transgression.`Cursed is the ground for thy sake - thorns and thistles shall it bringforth to thee - and by the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread,' wasthe Almighty's sentence; and it is only by labour that the husbandmancan obtain his crops, and by watchfulness that the shepherd can guardhis flocks. Labour is in itself a benefit: without exercise there wouldbe no health, and without health there would be no enjoyment."

"I see now, papa. You have mentioned the animals which can live in allclimates; will you not tell us something about other animals?"

"There is but one remark to make, William, which is, that animalsindigenous to, that is, originally to be found in, any one portion ofthe globe, invariably are so fashioned as to be most fit for thatcountry, and have the food also most proper for them growing or to beobtained in that country. Take, for instance, the camel, an animalfashioned expressly for the country to which he is indigenous, andwithout whose aid all communication must have been stopped between Asiaand Africa. He is called the `Ship of the Desert'; for the desert is a`sea of sand'. His feet are so fashioned that he can traverse the sandswith facility; he can live upon the coarsest vegetable food and saltplants which are found there, and he has the capacity of carrying waterin a sort of secondary stomach, for his own supply where no water is tobe found. Here is an animal wonderfully made by the Almighty for anexpress locality, and for the convenience of man in that country; for,in England, or elsewhere, he would be of no value. But it is late, mydear William; so we will first thank him for all his mercies, and thento bed."

Chapter LVII

The next morning was one of bustle; there was packing up and everypreparation for departure. Juno was called here and called there, andwas obliged to ask little Caroline to look after the kettle and call toher if it boiled over. Master Tommy, as usual, was in every one's way,and doing more harm than good in his attempts to assist.

At last, Ready, to get rid of him, sent him down with a large bundle tothe beach. Tommy shouldered it with great importance, but when he cameback, looking rather warm with the exertion, and Ready asked him totake down another, he said he was too tired, and sat down very quietlytill breakfast-time, before which everything was ready.

Mrs. Seagrave and Juno packed up the breakfast and dinner things in abasket after breakfast was over, and then Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave and thefamily set off on their journey, accompanied by the dogs, through thecocoa-nut grove.

William and Ready lost no time in getting through their work; thecrockery, kitchen utensils, table, and chairs, were the first articlesput into the boat. The goat was then led down, and they set off with afull load, and arrived at the bay long before the party who werewalking through the wood. They landed the things on the beach, and thenshoved off again to bring round the bedding, which was all that wasleft. By three o'clock in the afternoon they had arrived at the baywith their second and last load, and found that the other party hadbeen there about an hour, and Mr. Seagrave and Juno were very busytaking the articles up from the beach.

"Well, William," said Ready, "this is our last trip for some time, Iexpect; and so much the better, for our little boat must have somethingdone to her as soon as I can find time."

"Yes, indeed, Ready, she has done her work well. Do you know I feel asif I were coming home, now that we are back to the bay. I really feelquite glad that we have left the tents. I found the pigeons among thepeas, Ready, so we must pick them as soon as we can. I think there werenear twenty of them. We shall have pigeon pies next year, I expect."

"If it pleases God that we live and do well," replied Ready, who hadhis eyes fixed upon the sea.

Before night everything was in its place again in the house, and ascomfortable as before, and as they were very tired, they went veryearly to bed, having first arranged what they should do in the morning.At daylight Ready and William went down to the turtle-pond and speareda turtle, for now the time was coming on for turning the turtle again,and the pond would soon be filled. Having cut it up and put a portionof it into the pot, all ready for Mrs. Seagrave, as soon as breakfastwas over they proceeded to the storehouse.

After a little consultation with Mr. Seagrave, Ready marked out asquare of cocoa-nut trees surrounding the storehouse, so as to leave aspace within them of about twenty yards each side, which theyconsidered large enough for the inclosure. These cocoa-nut trees wereto serve as the posts between which were to be fixed other cocoa-nuttrees cut down, and about fourteen feet high, so as to form a palisadeor stockade, which could not be climbed over, and would protect themfrom any attack of the savages.

As soon as the line of trees had been marked out, they set to workcutting down all the trees within the line, and then outside to adistance of ten yards, so as to give them room for their work. Readycut out cross-pieces, to nail from tree to tree, and now they found theadvantage of having saved so many of the large spike nails, withoutwhich they never could have made so good or so quick a job of it. Mr.Seagrave cut down trees, William and Juno sawed them off at a properlength with one of the cross-cut saws, and then carried them to Ready.They soon had more cut out than be could use, and then they draggedaway the tops and branches, and piled them at a distance on the ground,to use as winter fuel, while Mr. Seagrave helped Ready in fixing up thepalisades. They worked very hard that day, and were not sorry to go tobed. Ready, however, took an opportunity to speak to William.

"I think," said he, "that now we are here again, it will be necessaryto keep a sort of night-watch, in case of accident. I shall not go tobed till it is quite dark, which it will be by nine o'clock, and shallhave my glass to examine the offing the last thing. You see, there islittle fear of the savages coming here in the night-time, but they mayjust before night or very early in the morning, so one of us must be upagain before daybreak, that is between two and three o'clock in themorning, to see if there is anything to be seen of them; if there isnot, of course we may go to bed again, as they cannot arrive till manyhours afterwards; and we must watch the wind and weather, if it isfavourable for them to come to us, which, indeed, the wind will not beexcept at the commencement of the rainy season but it may be verylight, and then they would not care for its being against them. I'vebeen thinking of it, William, a great deal, and my idea is, that itwill be at the beginning of the rainy season that we shall have avisit, if we have one at all; for you see that the wind don't blowregular from one quarter, as it does now, but is variable, and thenthey can make sail in their canoes, and come here easily, instead ofpulling between thirty and forty miles, which is hard work against windand current. Still, we must not be careless and we must keep a goodlook-out even now. I don't want to fret your father and Mrs. Seagravewith my fears on the subject, but I tell you what I really think, andwhat we ought to do."

"I agree with you, Ready, and I will take care to be up beforedaybreak, and examine very carefully with the spy-glass as soon as theday dawns. You take the night part, and I will do the morning part ofthe watching."

Chapter LVIII

For nearly a fortnight, the work upon the stockade continued withoutany intermission, when a circumstance occurred which created thegreatest alarm and excitement. One day, as the party returned todinner, Mrs. Seagrave said with surprise, "Why, was not Tommy withyou?"

"No," replied Mr. Seagrave; "he has not been near us all day; he wentwith us after breakfast, but did not remain a quarter of an hour."

"No, Missy; I tell Massa Tommy to help carry cocoa-nut leaves, and thenhe go away directly."

"Goodness! where can he be?" exclaimed Mrs. Seagrave, alarmed.

"I dare say he is picking up shells on the beach, ma'am," replied
Ready, "or perhaps he is in the garden. I will go and see."

"I see him - oh, mercy! - I see him," said Juno, pointing with herfinger; "he in the boat, and boat go to sea!"

It was but too true: there was Tommy in the boat, and the boat haddrifted from the beach, and was now a cable's length away from it,among the breakers.

William ran off like the wind, followed close by Mr. Seagrave andReady, and at a distance by Mrs. Seagrave and Juno; indeed, there wasno time to be lost, for the wind was off the shore, and in a short timethe boat would have been out to sea.

William, as soon as he arrived at the beach, threw off his hat andjacket and dashed into the water. He was already up to his middle, whenold Ready, who had followed him, caught him by the arm and said:

"William, go back immediately. I insist upon it. Your going can do nogood, as you do not understand the thing so well as I do; and go Iwill, so there will be double risk for nothing. Mr. Seagrave, order himback. He will obey you. I insist upon it, sir."

"William," said Mr. Seagrave, "come back immediately, I command you."

William obeyed, but before he was clear of the water Ready had swamacross to the first rocks on the reef, and was now dashing through thepools between the rocks, towards the boat.

"Oh, father!" said William, "if that good old man is lost, I shallnever forgive myself. Look, father, one - two - three sharks, here,close to us. He has no chance. See, he is again in deep water. Godprotect him!"

In the meantime, Mr. Seagrave, whose wife was now by his side, afterglancing his eye a moment at the sharks, which were within a few feetof the beach, had kept his gaze steadily upon Ready's movements. If hepassed through the passage of deep water between the rocks he might beconsidered safe, as the boat was now beating on a reef on the otherside, where the water was shallow. It was a moment of intense anxiety.At last Ready had gained the reef, and had his hands upon the rocks,and was climbing on them.

"He is safe, is he not?" whispered Mrs. Seagrave faintly.

"Yes; now I think he is," replied Mr. Seagrave, as Ready had gained afooting on the rocks, where the water was but a little above hisankles. "I think there is no deep water between him and the boat."

In another minute Ready was over the rocks, and had seized the gunnelof the boat.

"He is in the boat," cried William. "Thank God!"

"Yes, we must thank God, and that fervently," replied Mr. Seagrave.
"Look at those monsters," continued he, pointing to the sharks; "how
quick they swim to and fro; they have scented their prey on the water.
It is fortunate they are here."

"See, he has the boat-hook, and is pushing the boat off the reef intothe deep water. Oh! he is quite safe now."

Such, however, was not the case. The boat had been beating on the rocksof the reef, and had knocked a hole in her bottom, and as soon as Readyhad forced the boat into deep water, she began to fill immediately.Ready pushed as hard as he could with the boat-hook, and tearing offhis neck-cloth, forced as much as he could of it into the hole. Thissaved them; but the boat was up to the thwarts with water, and theleast motion on the part of Ready, or even Tommy, would have upset herimmediately, and they had still to pass the deep water between the reefand the beach, where the sharks were swimming. Ready, who perceived hisdanger, called out to them to throw large stones at the sharks as fastas they could, to drive them away. This was immediately done by Mr.Seagrave and William, aided by Juno and Mrs. Seagrave.

The pelting of the stones had the desired effect. The sharks swam away,and Ready passed through to the beach, and the boat grounded just asshe was up to the gunnel in water, and about to turn over. He handedout Tommy, who was so dreadfully frightened that he could not cry.

As soon as Ready landed, William sprang into his arms, crying, "ThankGod, you are safe, Ready!" Mrs. Seagrave, overpowered by her feelings,sank her head upon William's shoulder, and burst into tears.

"It was touch and go, William," observed Ready, as they walked up tothe house, preceded by Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave. "How much mischief may becreated by a thoughtless boy! However, one can't put old heads on youngshoulders, and so Tommy must be forgiven."

"He has been punished enough, as far as fright goes," replied William;
"I'll answer for it, he'll never get into the boat again by himself."

"No, I think not. But now, William, you saw how nearly I was swamped inthe boat; indeed, it was only by his mercy that I was preserved; buttaking the question merely as far as our endeavours could help us, doyou think that if you had gained the boat instead of me, you would havebrought her to the beach as I did?"

"No, Ready; I never could have managed her so skilfully as you did, andtherefore I must have been swamped before I got on shore."

"Well, William, as I am an old sailor and you are not, therefore it isnot vanity which makes me say that you could not have managed the boatso well as I did. Now, as I had not three or four seconds to spare,you, as you say, must have been swamped. I mention this to prove to youthat I was right in desiring your father to order you back."

"Certainly, Ready; but Tommy is my brother, and I felt that it was moremy duty than yours to risk my life for him."

"A very proper feeling, William; but you have other duties, which are,to look after your father and mother, and be a comfort and solace tothem. Your life is more valuable than mine. I am an old man on thebrink of the grave, and a year or two makes no difference, but yourlife is, I hope, of more consequence."

That evening the prayers were more than usually solemn, and thethanksgivings more heartfelt and sincere. Exhausted with the excitingscene of the day, they all retired early to bed.

Chapter LIX

When Tommy was questioned on the following morning as to his inducementto get into the boat, to their great surprise he replied, that hewanted to go round to the tents again, to see if the bananas were ripe;that he intended to eat some of them and be back before dinner-time,that he might not be found out.

"I suspect, Tommy, you would have been very hungry before you ate anybananas if we had not perceived you," said Ready.

"I won't go into the boat any more," said Tommy.

"I rather think you will keep to that resolution, Tommy," replied Mr.Seagrave; "however, I must leave your mother to point out to you thedanger you were in yourself, and in which you placed others by yourfolly."

The stockade was now almost finished; the door was the occasion of agood deal of consultation; at last, it was agreed that it would bebetter to have a door of stout oak plank, but with second door-postsinside, about a foot apart from the door, between which could beinserted short poles one above the other, so as to barricade it withinwhen required. This would make the door as strong as any other portionof the stockade. As soon as this was all complete, the storehouse wasto be altered for a dwelling-house, by taking away the wattles ofcocoa-nut boughs on the sides, and filling them up with logs ofcocoa-nut trees.

Before the week was ended the stockade and door were complete, and theynow began to fell trees, to form the sides of the house. This was rapidwork; and while Mr. Seagrave, William, and Juno felled the trees, andbrought them on the wheels to the side of the stockade, all ready cutto their proper lengths, Ready was employed in flooring the house witha part of the deal planks which they had brought round from the cove.But this week they were obliged to break off for two days, to collectall their crops from the garden.

A fortnight more passed away in continual hard work, but the house wasat last finished, and very complete, compared to the one they wereresiding in. It was much larger, and divided into three rooms by thedeal planking: the middle room which the door opened into was thesitting and eating room, with a window behind; the two side rooms weresleeping-rooms, one for Mrs. Seagrave and the children, and the otherfor the male portion of the family.

"See, William," said Ready, when they were alone, "what we have beenable to do by means of those deal planks; why, to have floored thishouse, and run up the partitions, would have taken us half a year if wehad had to saw the wood."

"Yes; and what a comfort it is to have so many shelves about. Whenshall we shift into this house?"

"The sooner the better. We have plenty of work still to do, but we canwork outside of the stockade."

"And what do you propose to do with the old house?" said William.

"We had better put some of our stores of least value in it for thepresent, until we can fit up another storehouse inside the stockade."

"Then we'll put those casks in, for they take up a great deal of room."

"All but that large one, William; we shall want that. I shall fix it upin a corner."

"What for, Ready?"

"To put water in."

"But we are closer to the spring than we were at the other house."

"I know that; but, perhaps, we may not be able to go out of thestockade, and then we shall want water."

"I understand, Ready; how thoughtful you are!"

"If at my age I did not think a little, William, it would be very odd.You don't know how anxious I am to see them all inside of thisdefence."

"But why should we not come in, Ready?"

"Why, sir, as there is still plenty of work, I do not like to press thematter, lest your mamma should be fidgeted, and think there was danger;but danger there is; I have a kind of forewarning of it. I wish youwould propose that they should come in at once; the standing-bed placesare all ready, except the canvas, and I shall nail on new by to-night."

In consequence of this conversation, William proposed at dinnertimethat the next day they should go into the new house, as it was so muchmore handy to work there and live there at the same time. Mr. Seagravewas of the same opinion, but Mrs. Seagrave thought it better thateverything should be tidy first.

"Why, ma'am," said Ready, "the only way to get things tidy is to goyourself and make them so. Nothing will ever be in its place unless youare there to put it in."

"Well, Ready," said Mrs. Seagrave, "since you are against me as well asall the rest, I give it up. and if you please we will shift overto-morrow."

"Indeed, ma'am, I think it will be better; this is the last month offine weather, and we shall have plenty to do."

"Be it so, Ready; you are the best judge; to-morrow we will take up ourquarters in the stockade."

"Thank God!" muttered Ready very softly.

The next day was fully employed in changing their residence, andshifting over the bedding and utensils; and that night they sleptwithin the stockade. Ready had run up a very neat little outhouse ofplank, as a kitchen for Juno, and another week was fully employed asfollows: the stores were divided; those of least consequence, and thesalt provisions, flour, and the garden produce, &c., were put into theold house; the casks of powder and most of the cartridges were also putthere for security; but a cask of beef, of pork, and flour, all theiron-work and nails, canvas, &c., were stowed away for the presentunder the new house, which had, when built as a storehouse, been raisedfour feet from the ground to make a shelter for the stock. This wasvery spacious, and, of course, quite dry, and contained all they wishedto put in. Ready also took care, by degrees, to fill the largewater-butt full of water, and had fixed into the bottom a spigot fordrawing the water off.

"Well, Mr. Seagrave," said Ready on the Saturday, "we have done a goodmany hard weeks' work lately, but this is the last of them. We are nowcomfortably settled in our new house: our stores are all under cover,and safe from the weather, and so we may now take things a littleeasier. William and I must repair the boat, so that we may take a tripround to examine how the stock and yams get on."

"And the bananas and the guavas," said Tommy.

"Why, we have quite forgotten all about them," observed Mrs. Seagrave.

"Yes, ma am; we have been so busy, that it is no wonder; however, theremay be some left yet, and I will go round as soon as the boat is ableto swim, and bring all I can find."

"We must put our seeds and potatoes in before the rainy season, Ready."

"It will be better, sir, if we can find time, as we shall not have muchmore fine weather now; at all events, we can get them in at intervalswhen the weather is fine. Now I shall go my rounds for turtle.Good-night, ma'am, - good-night, sir. Come, William."

William and Ready succeeded in turning six more turtles to add to theirstock, and having taken a careful survey with the telescope, they cameback, fastened the door of the stockade, and went to bed.

Chapter LX

Another week passed away, during which Ready repaired the boat, andWilliam and Mr. Seagrave were employed in digging up the garden. It wasalso a very busy week at the house, as they had not washed linen forsome time. Mrs. Seagrave and Juno, and even little Caroline were hardat work, and Tommy was more useful than ever he had been, going for thewater as they required it, and watching little Albert. Indeed, he wasso active, that Mrs. Seagrave praised him before his papa, and Tommywas quite proud.

On the Monday William and Ready set off in the boat to the littleharbour, and found all the stock doing well. Many of the bananas andguavas had ripened and withered, but there were enough left to fill theboat half full.

"We cannot do better than to leave the stock where it is at present,William; they can run into the cocoa-nut grove for shelter if there isa storm, and there is feed enough for ten times as many."

"Yes; but will you not dig up a few yams first?"

"I had quite forgotten it, William. I will go for the spade."

Having procured the yams, they set off on their return. Before theyarrived at the bay, the sky clouded over and threatened a storm. It didnot, however, rain till after they had landed, when a small showerannounced the commencement of the rainy season. The fruit was verywelcome to all of them, it was so long since they had tasted any.

The following day was beautifully fine, and everything appearedrefreshed by the rain which had fallen. It was, however, agreed, thatReady and William should go round the next morning, bring home thetents, and as many yams as the boat could carry. William and Ready wentout at night as usual, when Ready observed that the wind had choppedround to the eastward.

"That will be bad for us to-morrow, Ready," replied William. "We maysail to the harbour, but we shall have to pull back with the loadedboat."

"I trust it will be no worse than that, at all events," replied Ready;"but we must now return, and go to bed. I shall be up by daylight, soyou need not wake without you like."

"I can't help waking," replied William, "and I shall, therefore, be upwith you."

"Very well, I am always glad of your company."

The next morning, just before the day dawned, Ready and Williamunfastened the door of the stockade, and went down to the beach. Thewind was still to the eastward, and blowing rather fresh, and the skywas cloudy. As the sun rose, Ready, as usual, had his telescope withhim, and looked through it at the offing to the eastward. As he keptthe spy-glass to his eye for some time without speaking, William said:

"Do you see anything, Ready, that you look so long in that direction?"

"Either my old eyes deceive me, or I fear that I do," replied Ready;"but a few minutes more will decide."

There was a bank of clouds on the horizon to the eastward, but as soonas the sun had risen above them, Ready, who had the telescope fixed inthe same direction, said:

"Yes, William, I am right. I thought that those dark patches I sawthere were brown grass sails."

"Sails of what, Ready?" said William, hastily.

"Of the Indian canoes; I knew that they would come. Take the glass andlook yourself; my eye is quite dim from straining it so long."

"Yes, I have them now," replied William, with his eye to the glass. Atlast he said:

"Why, there are twenty or thirty of them, Ready, at least."

"And with twenty or thirty men in each too, William."

"What must we do, Ready? How frightened my poor mother will be! I'mafraid we can do nothing against such a number."

"Yes, William, we can do a great deal, and we must do a great deal.That there are hundreds of savages there is no doubt; but recollectthat we have a stockade, which they cannot easily climb over, andplenty of firearms and ammunition, so that we can make a good fight ofit, and perhaps beat them off, for they have nothing but clubs andspears."

"How fast they come down, Ready; why, they will be here in an hour."

"No, sir, nor in two hours either; those are very large canoes.However, there is no time to be lost. While I watch them for a fewminutes till I make them more clearly out, do you run up to the houseand beckon your father to come down to me; and then, William, get allthe muskets ready, and bring the casks of powder, and of made-upcartridges, from the old house into the stockade. Call Juno, and shewill help you. We shall have time enough to do everything. After youhave done that, you had better come down and join us."

In a very few minutes after William ran up to the house, Mr. Seagravemade his appearance.

"Ready, there is danger, I'm sure; William would not tell me, Ipresume, because he was afraid of alarming his mother. What is it?"

"It is, Mr. Seagrave, that the savages are now coming down upon us inlarge force; perhaps five or six hundred of them; and that we shallhave to defend ourselves with might and main."

"Do you think we have any chance against such a force?"

"Yes, sir, with God's help I have no doubt but that we shall beat themoff; but we must fight hard, and for some days, I fear."

Mr. Seagrave examined the fleet of canoes with the glass. "It is,indeed, dreadful odds to contend against."

"Yes, sir, but three muskets behind a stockade are almost a match forall their clubs and spears, provided none of us are wounded."

"Well, Ready, we must put our trust in the Lord, and do our best; Iwill second you to the utmost of my power, and William, I'm sure, willdo his duty."

"I think, sir," said Ready, "we had better not wait here any more, aswe have not long to prepare for them. We have only to fix up some ofour strong deal planks on the inside of the stockade for us to standupon when we are attacked, that we may see what the enemy is about, andbe able to fire upon them. But first we had better go to the old house,and take out what provisions and other articles we shall most want, androll the casks into the stockade, for to the old house they will gofirst, and perhaps destroy everything in it. The casks they certainlywill, for the sake of the iron hoops. An hour's work will do a greatdeal. I believe we have everything we want in the stockade; Juno hasher fuel, the large butt of water will last us two or three weeks atleast, and if we have time, we will get the wheels down, and spear acouple of turtles for fresh provisions."

These observations were made as they walked up to the house. As soon asthey arrived, they found William and Juno had just brought in thepowder and cartridges. Mr. Seagrave went in to break the matter to hiswife.

"I was told that I had to expect this, my dear," replied Mrs. Seagrave,"so that it has not come upon me altogether unawares, and anything thata poor weak woman can do, I will."

"I am indeed greatly relieved," said Mr. Seagrave, "by finding you thusprepared and supported. I shall feel no anxiety - but we have work tobe done."

Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave then joined William, Beady, and Juno, who hadalready proceeded to the old house. The children were all still in bedand asleep, so that there was no occasion for any one to watch them.

Chapter LXI

As they could have a very good view of the canoes from where the oldhouse stood, Ready examined them with his glass every time that hereturned from rolling up a cask to the stockade. Every one worked hard;even Mrs. Seagrave did all she could, either assisting in rolling thecasks, or carrying up what she was able to lift. In an hour they hadgot into the stockade all that they most cared for, and the canoes werestill about six or seven miles off.

"We have a good hour before they arrive, sir," said Ready, "and eventhen the reefs will puzzle them not a little; I doubt if they aredisembarked under two hours. We have plenty of time for all we wish todo. Juno, go for the wheels, and William, come down with the spear, andwe will have some of the turtle into the stockade. Mr. Seagrave, I donot require your assistance, so if you will have the kindness to getout the muskets, and examine the flints, it will be as well."

"Yes; and then you have to load them," replied Mrs. Seagrave. "Juno and
I can do that at all events, ready for you to fire them."

"An excellent idea, madam," replied Ready.

In half an hour six turtles were brought up by Juno and William, andthen Ready followed them into the stockade.

They then rolled the casks, and upheaded them by the sides of thestockade, and fixed up deal planks to stand upon, just high enough toenable them to see over the top of the palisades, and to fire at theenemy. Mrs. Seagrave had been shown how to load a musket, and Juno wasnow taught the same.

"Now, sir, we are all prepared," said Ready, "and Madam and Juno can goand look a little after the children, and get breakfast."

As soon as the children were dressed, Mr. Seagrave called Ready, whowas outside, watching the canoes, and they went to their morningdevotions, and prayed heartily for succour in this time of need. Theythen breakfasted in haste; for, as may be supposed, they were almosttoo anxious to eat.

"This suspense is worse than all," said Mrs. Seagrave. "I wish now thatthey were come."

"Shall I go to Ready and hear his report, my dear? - I will not be awaythree minutes."

In a short time Mr. Seagrave returned, saying that the canoes wereclose to the beach, that the savages evidently had a knowledge of thepassages through the reefs, as they had steered right in, and hadlowered their sails; that Ready and William were on the look-out, butconcealed behind the cocoa-nut trees.

"I hope they will not stay out too long."

"No fear of that, my dear Selina; but they had better watch theirmotions to the last minute."

During this conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave within thestockade, William and Ready were watching the motions of the savages, alarge portion of whom had landed out of ten of the canoes, and theothers were following their example as fast as they could, forcingtheir way through the reefs. The savages were all painted, with theirwar-cloaks and feathers on, and armed with spears and clubs, evidentlyhaving come with no peaceable intentions.

William, who had taken the telescope to examine them more minutely,said to Ready, "What a fierce, cruel set of wretches they appear to be;if they overpower us they will certainly kill us!"

"Of that there is no doubt, William; but we must fight hard, and notlet them overpower us. Kill us they certainly will, and I am not surethat they may not eat us afterwards; but that is of littleconsequence."

William replied in a determined tone, "I'll fight as long as I havebreath in my body; but, Ready, they are coming up as fast as they can."

"Yes; we must wait no longer. Come, William."

"I thought I saw another vessel under sail, out away by the gardenpoint, Ready, just as we turned away."

"Very likely, sir, a canoe which has separated from the others duringthe night. Come, quick, William, they have begun to yell."

Another half-minute, and they arrived at the door of the stockade; theyentered, shut the door, and then barricaded it with the cocoa-nut poleswhich they had fitted to the inner door-posts.

Chapter LXII

The loud yells of the savages struck terror into the heart of Mrs.Seagrave; it was well that she had not seen their painted bodies andfierce appearance, or she would have been much more alarmed. LittleAlbert and Caroline clung around her neck with terror in their faces;they did not cry, but looked round and round to see from whence thehorrid noise proceeded, and then clung faster to their mother. Tommywas very busy, finishing all the breakfast which had been left, forthere was no one to check him as usual; Juno was busy outside, and wasvery active and courageous. Mr. Seagrave had been employed making theholes between the palisades large enough to admit the barrels of themuskets, so that they could fire at the savages without being exposed;while William and Ready, with. their muskets loaded, were on thelook-out for their approach.

"They are busy with the old house just now, sir," observed Ready, "butthat won't detain them long."

"Here they come," replied William; "and look, Ready, is not that one ofthe women who escaped from us in the canoe, who is walking along withthe first two men? Yes, it is, I am sure."

"You are right, William, it is one of them. Ah! they have stopped; theydid not expect the stockade, that is clear, and it has puzzled them;see how they are all crowding together and talking; they are holding acouncil of war how to proceed; that tall man must be one of theirchiefs. Now, William, although I intend to fight as hard as I can, yetI always feel a dislike to begin first; I shall therefore show myselfover the palisades, and if they attack me, I shall then fire with aquiet conscience."

"But take care they don't hit you, Ready."

"No great fear of that, William. Here they come."

Ready now stood upon the plank within, so as to show himself to thesavages, who gave a tremendous yell, and as they advanced a dozenspears were thrown at him with so true an aim that, had he notinstantly dodged behind the stockade, he must have been killed. Threeor four spears remained quivering in the palisades, just below the top;the others went over it, and fell down inside of the stockade, at thefurther end.

"Now, William, take good aim;" but before William could fire, Mr.Seagrave, who had agreed to be stationed at the corner so that he mightsee if the savages went round to the other side, fired his musket, andthe tall chief fell to the ground.

Ready and William also fired, and two more of the savages were seen todrop amidst the yells of their companions. Juno handed up the othermuskets which were ready loaded, and took those discharged, and Mrs.Seagrave, having desired Caroline to take care of her little brother,and Tommy to be very quiet and good, came out, turned the key of thedoor upon them, and hastened to assist Juno in reloading the muskets.

The spears now rushed through the air, and it was well that they couldfire from the stockade without exposing their persons, or they wouldhave had but little chance. The yells increased, and the savages nowbegan to attack on every quarter; the most active, who climbed likecats, actually succeeded in gaining the top of the palisades, but, assoon as their heads appeared above, they were fired at with so true anaim that they dropped down dead outside. This combat lasted for morethan an hour, when the savages, having lost a great many men, drew offfrom the assault, and the parties within the stockade had time tobreathe.

"They have not gained much in this bout, at all events," said Ready;"it was well fought on our side, and William, you certainly behaved asif you had been brought up to it."

"Do you think they will go away now?" said Mrs. Seagrave.

"Oh, no, madam, not yet; they will try us every way before they leaveus. You see these are very brave men, and it is clear that they knowwhat gunpowder is, or they would have been more astonished."

"I should think so too," replied Mr. Seagrave; "the first time thatsavages hear the report of firearms, they are usually thrown into greatconsternation."

"Yes, sir; but such has not been the case with these people, andtherefore I reckon it is not the first time that they have fought withEuropeans."

"Are they all gone, Ready?" said William, who had come down from theplank to his mother.

"No; I see them between the trees now; they are sitting round in acircle, and, I suppose, making speeches."

"Well, I'm very thirsty, at all events," said William; "Juno, bring mea little water."

Juno went to the water-tub to comply with William's request, and in afew moments afterwards came back in great consternation.

"Oh, Massa! oh, Missy! no water; water all gone!"

"Water all gone!" cried Ready and all of them in a breath.

"Yes; not one little drop in the cask."

"I filled it up to the top!" exclaimed Ready very gravely; "the tub didnot leak, that I am sure of; how can this have happened?"

"Missy, I tink I know now," said Juno; "you remember you send MassaTommy, the two or three days we wash, to fetch water from the well inlittle bucket. You know how soon be come back, and how you say whatgood boy he was, and how you tell Massa Seagrave when he come todinner. Now, Missy, I quite certain Massa Tommy no take trouble go towell, but fetch water from tub all the while, and so he empty it."

"I'm afraid you're right, Juno," replied Mrs. Seagrave. "What shall wedo?"

"I go speak Massa Tommy," said Juno, running to the house.

"This is a very awkward thing, Mr. Seagrave," observed Ready gravely.

Mr. Seagrave shook his head.

The fact was, that they all perceived the danger of their position: ifthe savages did not leave the island, they would perish of thirst orhave to surrender; and in the latter case, all their lives would mostcertainly be sacrificed.

Juno now returned: her suspicions were but too true. Tommy, pleasedwith the praise of being so quick in bringing the water, had taken outthe spigot of the cask, and drawn it all off.

"Well," observed Mr. Seagrave, "it is the will of Heaven that all ourcareful arrangements and preparations against this attack should bedefeated by the idleness of a child, and we must submit."

"Very true, sir," replied Ready; "all our hopes now are that thesavages may be tired out, and leave the island."

"If I had but a little for the children, I should not care," observedMrs. Seagrave; "but to see those poor things suffer - is there not adrop left, Juno, anywhere?"

Juno shook her head.

Mrs. Seagrave said she would go and examine, and went away into thehouse accompanied by Juno.

"This is a very bad business, Ready," observed Mr. Seagrave. "Whatwould we give for a shower of rain now, that we might catch the fallingdrops!"

"There are no signs of it, sir," replied Ready; "we must, however, putour confidence in One who will not forsake us."

"I wish the savages would come on again," observed William; "for thesooner they come, the sooner the affair will be decided."

"I doubt if they will to-day; at night-time I think it very probable.
We must make preparations for it."

"Why, what can we do, Ready?"

"In the first place, sir, by nailing planks from cocoa-nut tree tococoa-nut tree above the present stockade, we may make a great portionof it much higher, and more difficult to climb over. Some of them werenearly in, this time. If we do that, we shall not have so large a spaceto watch over and defend; and then we must contrive to have a largefire ready for lighting, that we may not have to fight altogether inthe dark. It will give them some advantage in looking through thepalisades, and seeing where we are, but they cannot well drive theirspears through, so it is no great matter. We must make the fire in thecentre of the stockade, and have plenty of tar in it, to make it burnbright, and we must not, of course, light it until after we areattacked. We shall then see where they are trying for an entrance, andwhere to aim with our muskets."

"The idea is very good, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave; "if it had not beenfor this unfortunate want of water, I really should be sanguine ofbeating them off."

"We may suffer very much, Mr. Seagrave, I have no doubt; but who knowswhat the morrow may bring forth?"

"True, Ready. Do you see the savages now?"

"No, sir; they have left the spot where they were in consultation. Isuppose they are busy with their wounded and their dead."

As Ready had supposed, no further attack was made by the savages onthat day, and he, William, and Mr. Seagrave, were very busy makingtheir arrangements; they nailed the planks on the trunks of the treesabove the stockade, so as to make three sides of the stockade at leastfive feet higher, and almost impossible to climb up; and they prepareda large fire in a tar-barrel full of cocoa-nut leaves mixed with woodand tar, so as to burn fiercely. Dinner or supper they had none, forthere was nothing but salt pork and beef and live turtle, and, byReady's advice, they did not eat, as it would only increase theirdesire to drink.

The poor children suffered much; and little Albert wailed and cried for"water, water." Ready remained on the look-out; indeed, everything wasso miserable inside of the house, that they were all glad to go out ofit; they could do no good, and poor Mrs. Seagrave had a difficult andmost painful task to keep the children quiet under such severeprivation, for the weather was still very warm and sultry.

Chapter LXIII

But the moaning of the children was very soon after dusk drowned by theyells of the savages, who, as Ready had prognosticated, now advanced tothe night attack.

Every part of the stockade was at once assailed, and their attempts nowmade were to climb into it; a few spears were occasionally thrown, butit was evident that the object was to obtain an entrance by dint ofnumbers. It was well that Ready had taken the precaution of nailing thedeal planks above the original stockade, or there is little doubt butthat the savages would have gained their object; as it was, before theflames of the fire, which Juno had lighted by Ready's order, gave themsufficient light, three or four savages had climbed up and had beenshot by William and Mr. Seagrave, as they were on the top of thestockade.

When the fire burnt brightly, the savages outside were more easilyaimed at, and a great many fell in their attempts to get over. Theattack continued more than an hour, when at last, satisfied that theycould not succeed, the savages once more withdrew, carrying with them,as before, their dead and wounded.

"I trust that they will now re-embark, and leave the island," said Mr.
Seagrave.

"I only wish they may, sir; it is not at all impossible; but there isno saying. I have been thinking, Mr. Seagrave, that we might be able toascertain their movements by making a look-out. You see, sir, thatcocoa-nut tree," continued Ready, pointing to one of those to which thepalisades were fastened, "is much taller than any of the others: now,by driving spike-nails into the trunk at about a foot apart, we mightascend it with ease, and it would command a view of the whole bay; wethen could know what the enemy were about."

"Yes, that is very true; but will not anyone be very much exposed if heclimbs up?"

"No, sir; for you see the cocoa-nut trees are cut down clear of thepalisades to such a distance, that no savage could come at all nearwithout being seen by anyone on the look-out, and giving us sufficienttime to get down again before he could use his spear."

"I believe that you are right there, Ready; but at all events I wouldnot attempt to do it before daylight, as there may be some of themstill lurking underneath the stockade."

"Certainly there may be, sir, and therefore until daylight we will notbegin."

Mr. Seagrave then went into the house; Ready desired William to liedown and sleep for two or three hours, as he would watch. In themorning, when Mr Seagrave came out, he would have a little sleephimself.

"I can't sleep, Ready. I'm mad with thirst," replied William.

"Yes, sir; it's very painful - I feel it myself very much, but whatmust those poor children feel? I pity them most."

"I pity my mother most, Ready," replied William; "it must be agony toher to witness their sufferings, and not be able to relieve them."

"Yes, indeed, it must be terrible, William, to a mother's feelings; butperhaps these savages will be off to-morrow, and then we shall forgetour privations."

"I trust in God that they may, Ready, but they seem very determined."

"Yes, sir; iron is gold to them, and what will civilized men not do forgold?"

In the meantime, Mr. Seagrave had gone into the house. He found thechildren still crying for water, notwithstanding the coaxing andsoothing of Mrs. Seagrave, who was shedding tears as she hung over poorlittle Albert. Little Caroline only drooped, and said nothing. Mr.Seagrave remained for two or three hours with his wife, assisting herin pacifying the children, and soothing her to the utmost of his power;at last he went out and found old Ready on the watch.

"Ready, I had rather a hundred times be attacked by these savages andhave to defend this place, than be in that house for even five minutes,and witness the sufferings of my wife and children."

"I do not doubt it, sir," replied Ready; "but cheer up, and let us hopefor the best; I think it very probable that the savages after thissecond defeat will leave the island."

"I wish I could think so, Ready; it would make me very happy; but Ihave come out to take the watch, Ready. Will you not sleep for awhile?"

"I will, sir, if you please, take a little sleep. Call me in two hours;it will then be daylight, and I can go to work, and you can get somerepose yourself."

"I am too anxious to sleep; I think so, at least."

"William said he was too thirsty to sleep, sir, but, poor fellow, he isnow fast enough."

"I trust that boy will be spared, Ready."

"I hope so too; but we are all in the hands of the Almighty."

Mr. Seagrave took his station on the plank, and was left to his ownreflections; that they were not of the most pleasant kind may easily beimagined. He prayed earnestly and fervently that they might bedelivered from the danger and sufferings which threatened them, andbecame calm and tranquil; prepared for the worst, if the worst was tohappen, and confidently placing himself and his family under the careof him who orders all as he thinks best.

At daylight Ready woke up and relieved Mr. Seagrave, who did not returnto the house, but lay down on the cocoa-nut boughs, where Ready hadbeen lying by the side of William. As soon as Ready had got out thespike-nails and hammer, he summoned William to his assistance, and theycommenced driving them into the cocoa-nut tree, one looking out in caseof the savages approaching, while the other was at work. In less thanan hour they had gained the top of the tree close to the boughs, andhad a very commanding view of the bay, as well as inland. William, whowas driving the last dozen spikes, took a survey, and then came down toReady.

"I can see everything, Ready: they have pulled down the old housealtogether, and are most of them lying down outside, covered up withtheir war-cloaks; some women are walking to and fro from the canoes,which are lying on the beach where they first landed."

"They have pulled down the house to obtain the iron nails, I have nodoubt," replied Ready. "Did you see any of their dead?"

"No; I did not look about very much, but I will go up again directly. Icame down because my hands were jarred with hammering, and the hammerwas so heavy to carry. In a minute or two I shall go up light enough.My lips are burning, Ready, and swelled; the skin is peeling off. I hadno idea that want of water would have been so dreadful. I was in hopesof finding a cocoa-nut or two on the tree, but there was not one."

"And if you had found one, it would not have had any milk in it at thisseason of the year. However, William, if the savages do not go awayto-day, something must be done. I wish now that you would go up again,and see if they are not stirring."

William again mounted to the top of the tree, and remained up for someminutes; when he came down, he said, "They are all up now, and swarminglike bees. I counted 260 of the men in their war-cloaks and featherhead-dresses; the women are passing to and fro from the well withwater; there is nobody at the canoes except eight or ten women, who arebeating their heads, I think, or doing something of the kind. I couldnot make it out well, but they seem all doing the same thing."

"I know what they are about, William: they are cutting themselves withknives or other sharp instruments. It is the custom of these people.The dead are all put into the canoes, and these women are lamentingover them; perhaps they are going away, since the dead are in thecanoes. but there is no saying."

Chapter LXIV

The second day was passed in keeping a look-out upon the savages, andawaiting a fresh attack. They could perceive from the top of thecocoa-nut tree that the savages held a council of war in the forenoon,sitting round in a large circle, while one got up in the centre andmade a speech, flourishing his club and spear while he spoke. In theafternoon the council broke up, and the savages were observed to bevery busy in all directions, cutting down the cocoa-nut trees, andcollecting all the brushwood.

Ready watched them for a long while, and at last came down a littlebefore sunset. "Mr. Seagrave," said he, "we shall have, in my opinion,no attack this night, but to-morrow we must expect something veryserious; the savages are cutting down the trees, and making largefaggots; they do not get on very fast, because their hatchets are madeof stone and don't cut very well, but perseverance and numbers willeffect everything, and I dare say that they will work all night tillthey have obtained as many faggots as they want."

"But what do you imagine to be their object, Ready, in cutting downtrees, and making the faggots?"

"Either, sir, to pile them up outside the palisades, so large as to beable to walk up upon them, or else to pile them up to set fire to them,and burn us out."

"Do you think they will succeed?"

"Not without very heavy loss; perhaps we may best them off, but it willbe a hard fight; harder than any we have had yet. We must have thewomen to load the muskets, so that we may fire as fast as we can. Ishould not think much of their attempt to burn us, if it were not forthe smoke. Cocoa-nut wood, especially with the bark on, as ourpalisades have, will char a long while, but not burn easily whenstanding upright; and the fire, when the faggots are kindled, althoughit will be fierce, will not last long."

"But suffering as we are now, Ready, for want of water, how can wepossibly keep up our strength to meet them in a suffocating smoke andflame? we must drop with sheer exhaustion."

"We must hope for the best, and do our best, Mr. Seagrave," repliedReady; "and recollect that should anything happen to me during theconflict, and if there is any chance of your being overpowered, youmust take advantage of the smoke to escape into the woods, and findyour way to the tents. I have no doubt that you will be able to dothat; of course the attack will be to windward if they use fire, andyou must try and escape to leeward; I have shown William how to force apalisade if necessary. The savages, if they get possession, will notthink of looking for you at first, and, perhaps, when they haveobtained all that the house contains, not even afterwards."

"Why do you say if any accident happens to you, Ready?" said William.

"Because, William, if they place the faggots so as to be able to walkto the top of the palisades, I may be wounded or killed, and so mayyou."

"Of course," replied William; "but they are not in yet, and they shallhave a hard fight for it."

Ready then told Mr. Seagrave that he would keep the watch, and call himat twelve o'clock. During these two days, they had eaten very little; aturtle had been killed, and pieces fried, but eating only added totheir thirst, and even the children refused the meat. The sufferingswere now really dreadful, and poor Mrs. Seagrave was almost frantic.

As soon as Mr. Seagrave had gone into the house, Ready called William,and said, "William, water we must have. I cannot bear to see the agonyof the poor children, and the state of mind which your poor mother isin; and more, without water we never shall be able to beat off thesavages to-morrow. We shall literally die of choking in the smoke, ifthey use fire. Now, William, I intend to take one of the seven-gallonbarricos, and go down to the well for water. I may succeed, and I maynot, but attempt it I must, and if I fall it cannot be helped."

"Why not let me go, Ready?" replied William.

"For many reasons, William," said Ready; "and the chief one is that Ido not think you would succeed so well as I shall. I shall put on thewar-cloak and feathers of the savage who fell dead inside of thestockade, and that will be a disguise, but I shall take no arms excepthis spear, as they would only be in my way, and increase the weight Ihave to carry. Now observe, you must let me out of the door, and when Iam out, in case of accident put one of the poles across it inside; thatwill keep the door fast, if they attack it, until you can secure itwith the others. Watch my return, and be all ready to let me in. Do youunderstand me?"

"Yes, perfectly, Ready; but I am now, I must confess, reallyfrightened; if anything was to happen to you, what a misery it wouldbe!"

"There is no help for it, William. Water must, if possible, beprocured, and now is a better time to make the attempt than later, whenthey may be more on the watch; they have left off their work, and arebusy eating; if I meet any one, it will only be a woman."

Ready went for the barrico, a little cask, which held six or sevengallons of water. He put on the head-dress and war-cloak of the savage;and, taking the barrico on his shoulder, and the spear in his hand, thepoles which barred the door were softly removed by William, and afterascertaining that no one was concealed beneath the palisades, Readypressed William's hand, and set off across the cleared space outside ofthe stockade, and gained the cocoa-nut trees. William, as directed,closed the door, passed one pole through the inner door-posts forsecurity, and remained on the watch. He was in an awful state ofsuspense, listening to the slightest noise, even the slight rustling bythe wind of the cocoa-nut boughs above him made him start; there hecontinued for some minutes, his gun ready cocked by his side.

It is time that he returned, thought William; the distance is not 100yards, and yet I have heard no noise. At last he thought he heardfootsteps coming very softly. Yes, it was so. Ready was returning, andwithout any accident. William had his hand upon the pole, to slip it onone side and open the door, when he beard a scuffle and a fall close tothe door. He immediately threw down the pole, and opened it just asReady called him by name. William seized his musket and sprang out; hefound Ready struggling with a savage, who was uppermost, and with hisspear at Ready's breast. In a second William levelled and fired, andthe savage fell dead.

"Take the water in quick, William," said Ready in a faint voice. "Iwill contrive to crawl in if I can."

William caught up the barrico of water, and took it in; he thenhastened to Ready, who was on his knees. Mr. Seagrave, hearing themusket fired, had run out, and finding the stockade door open, followedWilliam, and seeing him endeavouring to support Ready, caught hold ofhis other arm, and they led him tottering into the stockade; the doorwas then immediately secured, and they went to his assistance.

"Are you hurt, Ready?" said William.

"Yes, dear boy, yes; hurt to death, I fear: his spear went through mybreast. Water, quick, water!"

"Alas! that we had some," said Mr. Seagrave.

"We have, papa," replied William; "but it has cost us dearly."

William ran for a pannikin, and taking out the bung, poured some waterout of the barrico and gave it to Ready, who drank it with eagerness.

"Now, William, lay me down on these cocoa-nut boughs; go and give somewater to the others, and when you have all drunk, then come to meagain. Don't tell Mrs. Seagrave that I'm hurt. Do as I beg of you."

"Papa, take the water - do pray," replied William; "I cannot leave
Ready."

"I will, my boy," replied Mr. Seagrave; "but first drink yourself."

William, who was very faint, drank off the pannikin of water, whichimmediately revived him, and then, while Mr. Seagrave hastened withsome water to the children and women, occupied himself with old Ready,who breathed heavily, but did not speak.

Chapter LXV

After returning twice for water, to satisfy those in the house, Mr.
Seagrave came to the assistance of William, who had been removing
Ready's clothes to ascertain the nature of the wound he had received.

"We had better move him to where the other cocoa-nut boughs lie; hewill be more comfortable there," said William.

Ready whispered, "More water." William gave him some more and then,with the assistance of his father, Ready was removed to a morecomfortable place. As soon as they laid him there, Ready turned on hisside, and threw up a quantity of blood.

"I am better now," said he in a low voice; "bind up the wound, William;an old man like me has not much blood to spare."

Mr. Seagrave and William then examined the wound; the spear had gonedeep into the lungs. William threw off his shirt, tore it up intostrips, and then bound up the wound so as to stop the effusion ofblood.

Ready, who at first appeared much exhausted with being moved about,gradually recovered so as to be able to speak in a low voice, when Mrs.Seagrave came out of the house.

"Where is that brave, kind man?" cried she, "that I may bless him andthank him."

Mr. Seagrave went to her, and caught her by the arm. "He is hurt, mydear; and very much hurt. I did not tell you at the time."

Mr. Seagrave related what had occurred, and then led her to where Readywas lying. Mrs. Seagrave knelt by his side, took his hand, and burstinto tears.

"Don't weep for me," said Ready; "my days have been numbered; I'm onlysorry that I cannot any more be useful to you."

"Dear good man," said Mrs. Seagrave, "whatever may be our fates, andthat is for the Almighty to decide for us, as long as I have life, whatyou have done for me and mine shall never be forgotten."

Mrs. Seagrave then bent over him, and kissing his forehead, rose andretired weeping into the house.

"William," said Ready, "I can't talk now; raise my head a little, andthen leave me. You have not looked round lately. Come again in abouthalf an hour. Leave me now, Mr. Seagrave; I shall be better if I doze alittle."

They complied with Ready's request; went up to the planks, and examinedcarefully all round the stockade; at last they stopped.

"This is a sad business, William," said Mr. Seagrave.

William shook his head. "He would not let me go," replied he; "I wishhe had. I fear that he is much hurt."

"I should say that he cannot recover, William. We shall miss himto-morrow if they attack us."

"I hardly know what to say, papa; but I feel that since we have beenrelieved, I am able to do twice as much as I could have done before."

"I feel the same, but still with such a force against us, two peoplecannot do much."

"If my mother and Juno load the muskets for us," replied William, "weshall at all events do as much now as we should have been able to do ifthere were three, so exhausted as we should have been."

"Perhaps so; at all events we will do our best, for we fight for ourlives and for those most dear to us."

William went softly up to Ready, and found that he was dozing; hetherefore did not disturb him, but returned to his father. Now thattheir thirst had been appeased, they all felt the calls of hunger. Junoand William went and cut off steaks from the turtle, and fried them;they all made a hearty meal, and perhaps never had they taken one withso much relish in their lives.

It was nearly daylight, when William, who had several times been softlyup to Ready, found him with his eyes open.

"How do you find yourself, Ready?" said William.

"I am quiet and easy, William, and without much pain; but I think I amsinking, and shall not last long. Recollect that if you are obliged toescape from the stockade, you take no heed of me, but leave me where Iam. I cannot live, and were you to move me, I should only die thesooner."

"I had rather die with you, than leave you, Ready."

"No, that is wrong; you must save your mother, and your brothers andsister; promise me that you will do as I wish."

William hesitated.

"I point out to you your duty, William. I know what your feelings are,but you must not give way to them; promise me this, or you will make mevery miserable."

William squeezed Ready's hand; his heart was too full to speak.

"They will come at daylight, William; you have not much time to spare;climb to the look-out, and wait there till day dawns; watch them aslong as you can, and then come and tell me what you have seen."

Ready's voice became faint after this exertion of speaking so much.

William immediately climbed up the cocoa-nut tree, and waited theretill daylight. At the dawn of day, he perceived that the savages wereat work, that they had collected all the faggots together opposite towhere the old house had stood, and were very busy in makingarrangements for the attack. At last, every one shouldered a faggot,and commenced their advance towards the stockade; William immediatelydescended and called his father, who was talking with Mrs. Seagrave.The muskets were all loaded, and Mrs. Seagrave and Juno took theirposts below the planking, to reload them as fast as they were fired.

"We must fire upon them as soon as we are sure of not missing,William," said Mr. Seagrave, "for the more we check their advance, thebetter."

When the first savages were within fifty yards, they both fired, andtwo of the men dropped; they continued to fire as their assailants cameup, with great success for the first ten minutes; after which thesavages advanced in a larger body, and took the precaution to hold thefaggots in front of them, for some protection as they approached. Bythese means they gained the stockade in safety, and commenced layingtheir faggots. Mr. Seagrave and William still kept up an incessant fireupon them, but not with so much success as before.

Although many fell, the faggots were gradually heaped up, till theyalmost reached to the holes between the palisades, through which theypointed their muskets; and as the savages contrived to slope them downfrom the stockade to the ground, it was evident that they meant tomount up and take them by escalade. At last, it appeared as if all thefaggots had been placed, and the savages retired farther back, to wherethe cocoa-nut trees were still standing.

"They have gone away, father," said William; "but they will come again,and I fear it is all over with us."

"I fear so too, my boy," replied Mr. Seagrave; "they are onlyretreating to arrange for a general assault, and they now will be ableto gain an entrance. I almost wish that they had fired the faggots; wemight have escaped as Ready pointed out to us, but now I fear we haveno chance."

"Don't say a word to my mother," said William; "let us defend ourselvesto the last, and if we are overpowered it is the will of God."

"I should like to take a farewell embrace of your dear mother," said
Mr. Seagrave; "but, no; it will be weakness just now. Here they come,
William, in a swarm. Well, God bless you, my boy; we shall all, I
trust, meet in Heaven!"

The whole body of savages were now advancing from the cocoa-nut wood ina solid mass; they raised a yell, which struck terror into the heartsof Mrs. Seagrave and Juno, yet they flinched not. The savages wereagain within fifty yards of them, when the fire was opened upon them;the fire was answered by loud yells, and the savages had alreadyreached to the bottom of the sloping pile of faggots, when the yellsand the reports of the muskets were drowned by a much louder report,followed by the crackling and breaking of the cocoa-nut trees, whichmade both parties start with surprise; another and another followed,the ground was ploughed up, and the savages fell in numbers.

"It must be the cannon of a ship, father," said William; "we are saved- we are saved!"

"It can be nothing else; we are saved, and by a miracle!" replied Mr.
Seagrave in utter astonishment.

The savages paused in the advance, quite stupefied; again, again,again, the report of the loud guns boomed through the air, and theround-shot and grape came whizzing and tearing through the cocoa-nutgrove; at this last broadside, the savages turned, and fled towardstheir canoes: not one was left to be seen.

"We are saved!" cried Mr. Seagrave, leaping off the plank and embracinghis wife, who sank down on her knees, and held up her clasped hands inthankfulness to Heaven.

William had hastened up to the look-out on the cocoa-nut tree, and nowcried out to them below, as the guns were again discharged:

"A large schooner, father; she is firing at the savages, who are at thecanoes; they are falling in every direction: some have plunged into thewater; there is a boat full of armed men coming on shore; they areclose to the beach, by the garden-point. Three of the canoes have gotoff full of men; there go the guns again; two of the canoes are sunk,father; the boat has landed, and the people are coming up this way."William then descended from the look-out as fast as he could.

As soon as he was down, he commenced unbarring the door of thestockade. He pulled out the last pole just as he heard the feet oftheir deliverers outside. He threw open the door, and, a second after,found himself in the arms of Captain Osborn.

Chapter LXVI

Before we wind up this history, it will be as well to state to my youngreaders how it was that Captain Osborn made his appearance at sofortunate a moment. It will be recollected how a brig came off theisland some months before this, and the great disappointment that theparty on the island experienced in her not making her appearance again.The fact was, that those on board of the brig had not only seen theirsignals, but had read the name of the "Pacific" upon the flag hoisted;but the heavy gale which came on drove them so far to the southward,that the master of the brig did not consider that he should do his dutyto his owners, if he lost so much time in beating up for the islandagain. He therefore decided upon making all sail for Sydney, to whichport he was bound.

When Captain Osborn was put into the boat by Mackintosh and the seamenof the Pacific, he was still insensible; but he gradually recovered,and after a stormy night, Captain Osborn was so far recovered as tohear from Mackintosh what had taken place, and why it was that he foundhimself in an open boat at sea. The next morning the wind moderated,and they were fortunate enough to fall in with a vessel bound to VanDiemen's Land, which took them all on board.

From the account given by Mackintosh, Captain Osborn had no doubt inhis mind but that the Seagrave family had perished, and the loss of thevessel, with them on board, was duly reported to the owners. When atVan Diemen's Land, Captain Osborn was so much taken with the beauty andfertility of the country, and perhaps not so well inclined to go to seaagain after such danger as he had incurred in the last voyage, that heresolved to purchase land and settle there. He did so, and had alreadystocked his farm with cattle, and had gone round to Sydney in aschooner to await the arrival of a large order from England which hehad sent for, when the brig arrived and reported the existence of somewhite people on the small island, and also that they had hoisted a flagwith the name Pacific worked on it.

Captain Osborn, hearing this, went to the master of the brig, andquestioned him. He found the latitude and longitude of the island to benot far from that of the ship when she was deserted, and he was nowconvinced that, by some miracle, the Seagrave family had beenpreserved. He therefore went to the Governor of New South Wales, andmade him acquainted with the facts which had been established, and theGovernor instantly replied, that the government armed schooner was athis service, if he would himself go in quest of his former shipmates.Inconvenient as the absence at that time was to Captain Osborn, he atonce acquiesced, and in a few days the schooner sailed for herdestination. She arrived off the island on the same morning that thefleet of canoes with the savages effected their landing, and whenWilliam made the remark to Ready as they were hastening into thestockade, that there was another vessel under sail off thegarden-point, had Ready had time to put his eye to the telescope, hewould have discovered that it was the schooner.

The schooner stood in to the reefs, and then hauled off again, that shemight send her boat in to sound for an anchorage. The boat, whensounding, perceived the canoes and the savages, and afterwards heardthe report of firearms on the first attack. On her return on board theschooner, they stated what they had seen and heard, and their idea thatthe white people on the island were being attacked by the savages. Asthe boat did not return on board till near dusk, they had not time tocanvas, the question when the night attack was made, and they againheard the firing of the muskets. This made Captain Osborn most anxiousto land as soon as possible, but as the savages were in such numbers,and the crew of the schooner did not consist of more than twenty-fivemen, the commander considered it was rash to make the attempt. He did,however, show the utmost anxiety to bring his schooner to an anchor, soas to protect his men, and then agreed that they should land.

The boat had reported deep water and good anchorage close to thegarden-point, and every preparation was made for running at daylight onthe following morning; but unfortunately, it fell calm for the bestpart of the day, and it was not until the morning after, just as thesavages were making their last attack upon the stockade, that she couldget in. As soon as she did, she opened the fire of her carronades, andthe result is already known.

My readers must, if they can, imagine the joy of Mr. and Mrs. Seagravewhen they beheld their old friend Captain Osborn. All danger was nowover; the party who had landed with him went out under the command ofthe mate, to ascertain if there were any more of the savages to befound; but, except the dead and dying, all had escaped in some of thesmaller canoes. Captain Osborn remained with the Seagraves, and theyinformed him of the state of poor old Ready, whom William had gone toattend as soon as Captain Osborn was engaged with his father andmother. Captain Osborn hurried out to see him; Ready knew his voice,for his eyes were already so dim that he could not see.

"That is Captain Osborn, I know," said Ready in a faint voice. "Youhave come in good time, sir; I knew you would come, and I always saidso: you have the thanks of a dying man."

"I hope it is not so bad as that, Ready; we have a surgeon on board,and I will send for him at once."

"No surgeon can help me, sir," replied Ready; "another hour of timewill not pass before I shall be in Eternity."

The old man then joined his hands across his breast, and remained forsome time in silent prayer. Then he bade them farewell in a faintvoice, which at last was changed to a mere whisper. They stillremained, in silence and in tears, standing round him, William onlykneeling and holding his hand, when the old man's head fell back, andhe was no more!

"It is all over," said Mr. Seagrave mournfully, "and he has, I have nodoubt, gone to receive the reward of a good and just man. `Happy arethose who die in the Lord.'"

Mr. Seagrave then led away his wife and children, leaving Juno andWilliam. William closed his eyes, and Juno went and fetched the ship'sensign, which they laid over the body, after which they joined the restof the party in the house.

It was decided that the following day should be passed in packing upand getting on board their luggage, and that the day after the familyshould embark. William then mentioned the wish of poor old Ready as tohis burial. The commander of the schooner immediately gave directionsfor a coffin to be made, and for his men to dig the grave at the spotthat William should point out.

Chapter LXVII

The hurry and bustle of preparing for their departure from the island,and the rapid succession of events which had been crowded togetherwithin so very few days, had not allowed time for much thought orreflection to Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave and William; at length, however,every preparation had been made, and they were no longer urged by thecommander of the schooner to hasten their packing up and arrangements;for everything had been sent on board during the afternoon, and it wasproposed that they should sail on the following day.

Now they had time to feel, and bitterly did they lament the loss oftheir old friend, and deplore that he had not survived to sail withthem to Sydney. They had always indulged the hope that one day theyshould be taken off the island, and in that hope they had ever lookedforward to old Ready becoming a part of their future household. Nowthat their wishes had been granted - so much was the feeling of joy andgratitude mingled with regret - that could he have been restored tothem, they felt as if they would have gladly remained on the island.

Captain Osborn, the commander, and the crew of the schooner had takenleave of them for the night, and had gone on board, having madearrangements for the interment of Ready, previous to their sailing, onthe following day. The children had been put to bed, and Juno hadquitted the house; Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave and William were sittingtogether in their now half-dismantled room, when Juno entered; the poorgirl had evidently been weeping.

"Well, Juno," observed Mr. Seagrave, with a view to break the silencewhich had continued for some time previous to her entrance, "are younot glad to leave the island?"

"One time I think I would be very glad, but now I not care much,"replied Juno. "Island very nice place, all very happy till savage come.Suppose they not kill old Ready, I not care."

"Yes, indeed," said Mrs. Seagrave, "it is a sad blow to us all; I didhope to have fostered the good old man, and to have been able to haveshown him our gratitude, but—"

"It is the will of Heaven that it should be otherwise," continued Mr.Seagrave; "I would give half that I am possessed of, that he had notperished."

"Oh, Massa!" said Juno, "I sit by him just now; I take off the flag andlook at his face, so calm, look so happy, so good, I almost tink hesmile at me, and then I cry. Oh! Massa Tommy, all because you idleboy."

"It adds much to my regret," replied Mr. Seagrave, "that his lifeshould have been sacrificed through the thoughtlessness of one of myown children; what a lesson it will be to Tommy when he is old enoughto comprehend the consequences of his conduct."

"That he must not know, papa," said William, who had been leaningmournfully over the table; "one of Ready's last injunctions was thatTommy was never to be told of it."

"His last wishes shall be religiously attended to, my dear boy,"replied Mr. Seagrave; "for what do we not owe to that good old man?When others deserted us and left us to perish, he remained with us toshare our fate. By his skill we were saved and landed in safety. Heprovided for our wants, added to our comforts, instructed us how tomake the best use of our means. Without his precautions we should haveperished by the spears of the savages. What an example of Christianfortitude and humility did he ever show us! and indeed, I may trulysay, that by his example, sinful as I must ever be, I have become, Itrust, a better man. Would that he were now sitting by us, - but theLord's will be done!"

"I feel as if I had lost a stay or prop," replied Mrs. Seagrave. "Soaccustomed have I been to look to him for advice since we have been onthis island. Had he not been thus snatched from us - had he been sparedto us a few years, and had we been permitted to surround his death-bed,and close his eyes in peace—" and Mrs. Seagrave wept upon the shoulderof her husband.

After a time, Mrs. Seagrave recovered herself; but silence ensued, onlybroken by an occasional sob from poor Juno. William's heart was toofull; he could not for a long while utter a word; at last he said in alow voice:

"I feel that, next to my dear father and mother, I have lost my bestfriend. I cannot forgive myself for allowing him to go for the water;it was my duty to go, and I ought to have gone."

"And yet we could have ill spared you, my dear boy; you might haveperished," replied Mrs. Seagrave.

"It would have been as God willed," replied William; "I might haveperished, or I might not."

"We never know what the morrow may bring forth," said Mr. Seagrave, "orwhat may be in store for us. Had not this misfortune happened, had oldReady been spared to us, how joyfully should I and all of you havequitted this island, full of anticipation, and indulging in worldlyprospects. What a check have I received! I now am all thought andanxiety. I have said to myself, `we have been happy on this island; ourwants have been supplied; even our comforts have been great. We havebeen under no temptations, for we have been isolated from the world; amI so sure that I shall be as happy in future as I have been? Am Iconfident, now my long-wished-for return to the world is about to takeplace, that I shall have no cause to lament that I ever quitted thispeaceful, quiet spot?' I feel that it is a duty to my family that Ishould return to society, but I am far from feeling that our happinessmay be increased. We have, however, a plain precept to follow, whichis, to do our duty in that state of life to which it has pleased God tocall us."

"Yes," replied Mrs. Seagrave; "I feel the truth of all you have justsaid. We are in his hands; let us put our trust in him."

"We will," replied Mr. Seagrave; "but it is late, and we have to riseearly to-morrow morning. This is the last evening which we shall passon this island; let us return our thanks for the happiness we haveenjoyed here. We thought to have quitted this spot in joy, - it is hiswill that we should leave it in sorrow."

Mr. Seagrave took down the Bible, and after he had read a chapter, hepoured forth a prayer suited to their feelings, and they all retired torepose.

The next morning they were up early, and packed up the few articleswhich still remained to go on board. Mr. Seagrave read the prayers, andthey went to breakfast. Few words were exchanged, for there was asolemn grief upon all of them. They waited for the arrival of CaptainOsborn and the crew of the schooner to attend the funeral of poor oldReady. William, who had gone out occasionally to look at the vessel,now came in, and said that two boats were pulling on shore. A fewminutes afterwards, Captain Osborn and the commander of the schoonersoon made their appearance. The coffin had been brought on shore; thebody of Ready was put into it, and it was screwed down.

In half an hour all was prepared, and the family were summoned from thehouse. The coffin, covered with the Union Jack as a pall, was raised onthe shoulders of six of the seamen, and they bore it to the grave,followed by Mrs. Seagrave and the children, the commander of theschooner, and several of the men. Mr. Seagrave read the funeralservice, the grave was filled up, and they all walked back in silence.At the request of William, the commander of the schooner had orderedthe carpenter to prepare an oak paling to put round the grave, and aboard on which was written the name of the deceased and day of hisdeath. As soon as this had been fixed up, William, with a deep sigh,followed the commander of the schooner to the house to announce thatall was finished, and that the boat waited for them to embark.

"Come, my dear," said Mr. Seagrave to his wife.

"I will, I will," replied Mrs. Seagrave, "but I don't know how it is,now that the hour is come, I really feel such pain at quitting thisdear island. Had it not been for poor Ready's death, I really do thinkI should wish to remain."

"I don't doubt but that you feel sorrow, my dear, but we must not keep
Captain Osborn waiting."

As Mr. Seagrave was aware that the commander of the schooner wasanxious to get clear of the islands before night, he now led his wifedown to the boat. They all embarked, and were soon on the deck of theschooner, from whence they continued to fix their eyes upon the island,while the men were heaving up the anchor. At last sail was made uponthe vessel, the garden-point was cleared, and, as they ran away with afair wind, each object on the shore became more indistinct. Still theireyes were turned in that direction.

As they ran down to the westward, they passed the cove where they hadfirst landed, and Mr. Seagrave directed Mrs. Seagrave's attention toit. She remained for some time looking at it in silence, and then saidas she turned away:

"We shall never be more happy than we were on that island, Seagrave."

"It will indeed be well, my dear, if we never are less happy," repliedher husband.

The schooner now ran fast through the water, and the island was everyminute less distinct; after a time, the land was below the horizon, andthe tops of the cocoa-nut trees only to be seen; these graduallydisappeared. Juno watched on, and when at last nothing could be seen,she waved her handkerchief in the direction of the island, as if to bidit farewell, and then went down below to hide her grief.

The wind continued fair, and, after a favourable passage of little morethan four weeks, they arrived at Sydney Cove, the port to which theywere bound when they embarked from England on board of the good shipPacific.

P.S. - As my young readers will probably wish to know a little moreabout the Seagrave family, I will inform them that Mr. Seagrave, likethe patriarch Job after his tribulation, found his flocks and herdsgreatly increased on his arrival at Sydney. Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave livedto see all their children grown up. William inherited the greater partof the property from his father, after having for many years assistedhim in the management of it. Tommy, notwithstanding all his scrapes,grew up a very fine fellow, and entered the army. Caroline married ayoung clergyman, and made him an excellent wife; little Albert wentinto the navy, and is at present a commander.

Juno is still alive, and lives at Seagrave plantation with William, andher greatest pleasure is to take his children on her knee, and tellthem long stories about the island, and make them cry when she goesthrough the history of old Ready's death and burial.

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