Masterman Ready
by Captain Marryat
Hypertext Meanings and Commentaries
from the Encyclopedia of the Self
by Mark Zimmerman

Chapter I

It was in the month of October, 18--, that the Pacific, a large ship,
was running before a heavy gale of wind in the middle of the vast
Atlantic Ocean. She had but little sail, for the wind was so strong,
that the canvas would have been split into pieces by the furious blasts
before which she was driven through the waves, which were very high,
and following her almost as fast as she darted through their boiling
waters; sometimes heaving up her stern and sinking her bows down so
deep into the hollow of the sea, that it appeared as if she would have
dived down underneath the waves; but she was a fine vessel, and the
captain was a good seaman, who did what he considered best for the
safety of his vessel, and then put his trust in that Providence who is
ever watchful over us.

The captain stood before the wheel, watching the men who were steering
the ship; for when you are running before a heavy gale, it requires
great attention to the helm: and as he looked around him and up at the
heavens, 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, not
another vessel to be seen, and the heavens were covered with black
clouds, which were borne along furiously by the gale; the sea ran
mountains high, and broke into large white foaming crests, while the
fierce wind howled through the rigging of the vessel.

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

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

"No, Master William, it will not: don't you see how the ship lifts her
quarters to it?--and now it has passed underneath us. But it might
happen, and then what would become of you, if I did not hold on, and
hold 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 the
ship all to pieces?"

"Yes, they do; and they roar as if angry because they cannot bury the
vessel beneath them: but I am used to them, and with a good ship like
this, 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 are
most safe. We can only do our best, and after that we must submit to
the 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 a
storm, 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 of
Robinson Crusoe. So many have been wrecked and undergone great
hardships, and so many more have never lived to tell what they have
suffered, that it's not very likely that I should have known that one
man you speak of, out of so many."

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

"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 the
hatchway without a tumble; and when the weather is fine again, I'll
tell you how I was wrecked, and you shall tell me all about Robinson
Crusoe."

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

Masterman Ready, for such was his name, had been more than fifty years
at sea, having been bound apprentice to a collier which sailed from
South Shields, when he was only ten years old. His face was browned
from long exposure, and there were deep furrows on his cheeks, but he
was still a hale and active man. He had served many years on board of a
man-of-war, and had been in every climate: he had many strange stories
to 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, of
course, he could read and write. The name of Ready was very well suited
to him, for he was seldom at a loss; and in cases of difficulty and
danger, the captain would not hesitate to ask his opinion, and
frequently take his advice. He was second mate of the vessel.

The Pacific was, as we have observed, a very fine ship, and well able
to contend with the most violent storm. She was of more than four
hundred tons burthen, and was then making a passage out to New South
Wales, with a valuable cargo of English hardware, cutlery, and other
manufactures. The captain was a good navigator and seaman, and moreover
a good man, of a cheerful, happy disposition, always making the best of
everything, and when accidents did happen, always more inclined to
laugh than to look grave. His name was Osborn. The first mate, whose
name was Mackintosh, was a Scotsman, rough and ill-tempered, but paying
strict 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 say
anything about the seamen on board, except that there were thirteen of
them, hardly a sufficient number to man so large a vessel; but just as
they were about to sail, five of the seamen, who did not like the
treatment they had received from Mackintosh, the first mate, had left
the ship, and Captain Osborn did not choose to wait until he could
obtain others in their stead. This proved unfortunate, as the events
which we shall hereafter relate will show.

Chapter II

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

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

It was not until the fourth day from its commencement that the gale
abated, and then it gradually subsided until it was nearly a calm. The
men who had been watching night after night during the gale now brought
all their clothes which had been drenched by the rain and spray, and
hung them up in the rigging to dry: the sails, also, which had been
furled, and had been saturated by the wet, were now loosened and spread
out that they might not be mildewed. The wind blew mild and soft, the
sea had gone down, and the ship was running through the water at the
speed of about four miles an hour. Mrs. Seagrave, wrapped up in a
cloak, was seated upon one of the arm-chests near the stern of the
ship, her husband and children were all with her enjoying the fine
weather, when Captain Osborn, who had been taking an observation of the
sun 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 Juno
tumbled off her chair, and rolled away with the baby, till papa picked
them 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 and
nothing 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, to
the captain.

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

"Here are the dogs come up on deck," said William; "I dare say they are
as 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 in
his hand, "I should like to ask you a question. Those dogs of yours
have two very odd names which I never heard before. Who were Romulus
and Remus?"

"Romulus and Remus," replied Mr. Seagrave, "were the names of two
shepherds, brothers, who in ancient days founded the city of Rome,
which eventually became the largest and most celebrated empire in the
world. They were the first kings of Rome, and reigned together. History
says 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 early
days is not to be depended upon."

"No, nor the brothers either, it appears," replied Ready; "however, it
is the old story - two of a trade can never agree. One sometimes hears
of 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 something
to-day, which everyone will to the last day of his life, if he will
only ask questions. I'm an old man, and perhaps don't know much, except
in the seafaring way; but I should have known much less if I did not
ask 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 by
it," said Mr. Seagrave; "never be ashamed to ask the meaning of what
you 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 I
only 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, you
stupid girl! how often do I tell you that? Some day or another you will
come 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 that
they 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 his
wife. "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 belonged
to 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 been
left 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 the
top of it in a very curious manner, and that the sailors call spreading
the 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 have
had bad weather enough already, and mamma suffers so much from it. What
a 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 down
the ladder, followed by William.

Upon the question being put to Mrs. Seagrave, she replied that she was
quite satisfied with the ship having no motion, and did not feel
herself equal to going on shore; it was therefore decided that she
should remain on board with the two younger children, and that, on the
following day, Mr. Seagrave should take William and Tommy to see Cape
Town, 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 with
William and Tommy. Tommy had promised his mamma to be very good; but
that he always did, and almost always forgot his promise directly he
was out of sight. As soon as they landed, they went up to a gentleman's
house, with whom Captain Osborn was acquainted. They stayed for a few
minutes to drink a glass of lemonade, for it was very warm; and then it
was proposed that they should go to the Company's Gardens and see the
wild beasts which were confined there, at which William was much
delighted, 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 the
Cape of Good Hope was in their possession. They are, properly speaking,
Botanical Gardens; but, at the same time, the wild animals are kept
there. Formerly there were a great many, but they have not been paid
attention to lately, for we have plenty of these animals in England
now."

"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 caught
him again, and held him fast by the hand.

"Here is a pair of very strange birds," said the gentleman who
accompanied them; "they are called Secretaries, on account of the
feathers which hang behind their heads, as the feather of a pen does
when a clerk puts it behind his ear: but they are very useful, for they
are snake-killers; indeed, they would, if they could, live altogether
upon snakes, which they are very great enemies to, never letting one
escape. They strike them with their feet, and with such force as to
kill them immediately."

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

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

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

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

They continued their walk until they came to the den of the lions. It
was a large place, in closed with a strong and high wall of stone, with
only one window to it for the visitors to look at them, as it was open
above. This window was wide, and with strong iron bars running from the
top to the bottom; but the width between the bars was such that a lion
could put his paw out with ease; and they were therefore cautioned not
to go too near. It was a fine sight to see eight or ten of these
noble-looking animals lying down in various attitudes, quite
indifferent apparently to the people outside--basking in the sun, and
slowly moving their tufted tails to and fro. William examined them at a
respectful distance from the bars; and so did Tommy, who had his mouth
open with astonishment, in which there was at first not a little fear
mixed, but he soon got bolder. The gentleman who had accompanied them,
and who had been long at the Cape, was relating to Mr. Seagrave and
Captain Osborn some very curious anecdotes about the lion. William and
they were so interested, that they did not perceive that Tommy had
slipped back to the grated window of the den. Tommy looked at the
lions, and then he wanted to make them move about: there was one fine
full-grown young lion, about three years old, who was lying down
nearest 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 he
fixed his eyes upon Tommy; so Tommy became more brave, and threw
another, and then another, approaching each time nearer to the bars of
the 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, had
they not been very strong, it must have broken them. As it was, they
shook and rattled so that pieces of mortar fell from the stones. Tommy
shrieked; and, fortunately for himself, fell back and tumbled head over
heels, or the lion's paws would have reached him. Captain Osborn and
Mr. Seagrave ran up to Tommy, and picked him up: he roared with fright
as 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 was
terribly 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 degrees
he became more composed; but he did not recover himself until they had
walked some distance away from the lion's den.

They then looked at the other animals which were to be seen, Tommy
keeping a most respectful distance from every one of them. He wouldn't
even go near to a Cape sheep with a broad tail.

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

Chapter IV

The following morning the fresh water and provisions were received on
board, and once more the Pacific stretched her broad canvas to the
winds, and there was every prospect of a rapid voyage, as for many days
she continued her passage with a fair wind and flowing sheet. But this
did 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 of
water; all nature appeared as if in repose, except that now and then an
albatross would drop down at some distance from the stern of the
vessel, and, as he swam lazily along with his wings half-furled, pick
up 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 very
long. I have seen them shot, and they have measured eleven feet from
the tip of one wing to the tip of the other when the wings have been
spread out."

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

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

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

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

"How odd!"

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

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

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

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

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

"What think you, Mackintosh?"

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

Mr. Seagrave, with William, happened to be standing by at the time of
this conversation, and at the term dead lights Willie's face expressed
some anxiety. Ready perceived it, and said--

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

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

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

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

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

Their preparations were hardly complete before the wind had settled to
a fierce gale from the north-east. The sea rose rapidly; topsail after
topsail was furled; and by dusk the Pacific was flying through the
water with the wind on her quarter, under reefed foresail and storm
staysail. It was with difficulty that three men at the wheel could keep
the helm, such were the blows which the vessel received from the heavy
seas on the quarter. Not one seaman in the ship took advantage of his
watch 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 wind
suddenly subsided; it was but for a minute or two, and then it again
burst on the vessel from another quarter of the compass, as Ready had
foretold, splitting the foresail into fragments, which lashed and
flogged the wind till they were torn away by it, and carried far to
leeward. The heavens above were of a pitchy darkness, and the only
light was from the creaming foam of the sea on every side. The shift of
wind, which had been to the west-north-west, compelled them to alter
the course of the vessel, for they had no chance but to scud, as they
now did, under bare poles; but in consequence of the sea having taken
its run from the former wind, which had been north-east, it was, as
sailors call it, cross, and every minute the waves poured over the
ship, sweeping all before their weight of waters. One poor man was
washed overboard, and any attempt made to save him would have been
unavailing. Captain Osborn was standing by the weather gunnel, holding
on 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 little
balls of electric matter attached, flaring out to a point. "Look at
those two clouds, sir, rushing at each other; if I--"

Ready had not time to finish what he would have said, before a blaze of
light, so dazzling that it left them all in utter darkness for some
seconds afterwards, burst upon their vision, accompanied with a peal of
thunder, at which the whole vessel trembled fore and aft. A crash - a
rushing forward - and a shriek were heard, and when they had recovered
their eyesight, the foremast had been rent by the lightning as if it
had 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; the
ship broached to - away went the mainmast over the side - and all was
wreck, confusion, and dismay.

Fortunately the heavy seas which poured over the forecastle soon
extinguished the flames, or they all must have perished; but the ship
lay now helpless, and at the mercy of the waves beating violently
against the wrecks of the masts which floated to leeward, but were
still held fast to the vessel by their rigging. As soon as they could
recover from the shock, Ready and the first mate hastened to the wheel
to try to get the ship before the wind; but this they could not do, as,
the foremast and mainmast being gone, the mizenmast prevented her
paying off and answering to the helm. Ready, having persuaded two of
the men to take the helm, made a sign to Mackintosh (for now the wind
was so loud that they could not hear each other speak), and, going aft,
they obtained axes, and cut away the mizen-rigging; the mizen-topmast
and head of the mizenmast went over the side, and then the stump of the
foremast was sufficient to get the ship before the wind again. Still
there was much delay and confusion, before they could clear away the
wreck of the masts; and, as soon as they could make inquiry, they found
that four of the men had been killed by the lightning and the fall of
the foremast, and there were now but eight remaining, besides Captain
Osborn and his two mates.

Chapter V

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

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

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

The countenance of Captain Osborn showed great anxiety: he had a heavy
responsibility on his shoulders - he might lose a valuable ship, and
still more valuable cargo, even if they did not all lose their lives;
for they were now approaching where the sea was studded with low coral
islands, upon which they might be thrown by the waves and wind, without
having the slightest power to prevent it in their present disabled
condition.

Ready was standing by him when Captain Osborn said--

"I don't much like this, Ready; we are now running on danger and have
no 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 a
pause, "There were many captains who envied me when I obtained command
of this fine ship, - would they change with me now?"

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

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

Ready had just time to cling with both hands to the belaying-pins when
the sea poured over the vessel, with a volume of water which for some
time swept them off their legs: they clung on firmly, and at last
recovered 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 shocks
long," replied Captain Osborn; "and at present, with our weak crew, I
do not see that we can get more sail upon her."

All that night the ship flew in darkness before the gale. At daybreak
the wind abated, and the sea went down: the ship was, however, still
kept before the wind, for she had suffered too much to venture to put
her broadside to the sea. Preparations were now made for getting up
jury-masts; and the worn-out seamen were busily employed, under the
direction of Captain Osborn and his two mates, when Mr. Seagrave and
William came upon deck.

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

"See, my child," said Mr. Seagrave, "the wreck and devastation which
are here. See how the pride of man is humbled before the elements of
the 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 them
well, for I have often read them, and have often felt the truth of
them: 'They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great
waters, 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 are
never much at a loss, and I dare say before night you will find us
under some sort of sail again. We have lost our great masts, so we must
put up jury-masts, as we call them; that is, little ones, and little
sails upon them; and, if it pleases God, we shall see Sydney yet. How
is Madam, sir?" continued Ready to Mr. Seagrave. "Is she better?"

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

"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 without
learning 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 very
same quarter, and that before dark."

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

"I shouldn't think so much about that, sir, as I really never knew of
people dying that way, although they suffer much. William, do you know
that 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 washed
overboard, Fennings and Masters struck dead with the lightning, and
Jones 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 to
mind what they say in the burial service, - 'In the midst of life we
are 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 and
many 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 his
life, and allow him to amend his ways."

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

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

"With my permission," continued Mr. Seagrave, "my boys shall never go
to 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 he
wishes to go to sea, and that if he is determined, he must go: now I
think otherwise - I think a parent has a right to say no, if he
pleases, upon that point; for you see, sir, a lad, at the early age at
which he goes to sea, does not know his own mind. Every high-spirited
boy wishes to go to sea - it's quite natural; but if the most of them
were 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 under
the 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 greater
slave in the world than a boy who goes to sea, for the first few years
after his shipping: for once they are corrected on shore, they are
punished ten times at sea, and they never again meet with the love and
affection they have left behind them. It is a hard life, and there have
been but few who have not bitterly repented it, and who would not have
returned, 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 consider
that a parent is justified in refusing his consent to his son going to
sea, if he can properly provide for him in any other profession. There
never will be any want of sailors, for there always will be plenty of
poor lads whose friends can do no better for them; and in that case the
seafaring life is a good one to choose, as it requires no other capital
for their advancement than activity and courage."

Chapter VI

Mr. Seagrave and William went down below into the cabin, where they
found that there was plenty of employment; the steward had brought a
basin of very hot pea-soup for the children. Tommy, who was sitting up
in the bed-place with his sister, had snatched it out of Juno's left
hand, for she held the baby with the other, and in so doing, had thrown
it over Caroline, who was screaming, while Juno, in her hurry to assist
Caroline, had slipped down on the deck with the baby, who was also
crying with fright, although not hurt. Unfortunately, Juno had fallen
down 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 her
head out of her standing bed-place, frightened out of her wits at the
accident, but unable to be of any assistance. Fortunately, Mr. Seagrave
came down just in time to pick up Juno and the baby, and then tried to
comfort little Caroline, who after all was not much scalded, as the
soup 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 busy
fixing a step for one of the spare topmasts instead of a mainmast, and
the men were fitting the rigging; the ship unfortunately had sprung a
leak, and four hands at the pumps interfered very much with their task.
As Ready had prophesied, before night the gale blew, the sea rose again
with the gale, and the leaking of the vessel increased so much, that
all other labour was suspended for that at the pump. For two more days
did the storm continue, during which time the crew were worn out with
fatigue - they could pump no longer: the ship, as she rolled, proved
that she had a great deal of water in her hold - when, melancholy as
were their prospects already, a new disaster took place, which was
attended with most serious results. Captain Osborn was on the
forecastle giving some orders to the men, when the strap of the block
which hoisted up the main-topgallant yard on the stump of the foremast
gave way, the yard and sail came down on the deck, and struck him
senseless. As long as Captain Osborn commanded them, the sailors had so
high an opinion of his abilities as a seaman, and were so encouraged by
his cheerful disposition, that they performed their work well and
cheerfully; but now that he was, if not killed, at all events senseless
and incapable of action, they no longer felt themselves under control.
Mackintosh was too much disliked by the seamen to allow his words to
have any weight with them. They were regardless of his injunctions or
requests, 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 is
going down fast."

"Yes," replied one of the men, "and the ship is going down fast, that's
quite 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. "What
d'ye say, my boys? I don't think that the captain would refuse us, poor
fellow, 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 is
no reason why we should not be saved: now, if you get drunk, there is
no chance of any one being saved, and my life is precious to me. I'm
ready to join with you in anything you please, and you may decide what
is to be done; but get drunk you shall not, if I can help it, that's
certain."

"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 in
this instance Ready will be of my side, and I can call to my assistance
the cabin passenger - recollect the firearms are all in the cabin. But
why should we quarrel? - Say at once what you intend to do; and if you
have not made up your minds, will you listen to what I propose?"

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

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

"You give very good advice, Mackintosh - only what is to become of the
cabin passengers, the women, and children? and are you going to leave
poor 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 have
enough to do to save our own lives."

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

"Yes," replied the seamen, unanimously; and Ready knew that it was in
vain to expostulate. They now set about preparing the boat, and
providing for their wants. Biscuits, salt pork, two or three small
casks of water, and a barrel of rum were collected at the gangway;
Mackintosh brought up his quadrant and a compass, some muskets, powder
and shot; the carpenter, with the assistance of another man, cut away
the ship's bulwarks down to the gunnel, so as to enable them to launch
the boat overboard, for they could not, of course, hoist her out now
that the masts were gone. In an hour everything was prepared. A long
rope was made fast to the boat, which was brought to the gunnel ready
for launching overboard, and the ship's broadside was brought to the
wind. As this was done, Mr. Seagrave came on deck and looked around
him.

He perceived the boat ready for launching, the provisions and water at
the gangway, the ship brought to the wind, and rolling slowly to the
heave 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 struck
down 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 are
launching the boat."

"But my poor wife, she will never be able to go - she cannot move - she
is 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 - how
barbarous!"

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

"My wife! my children!" cried Mr. Seagrave, covering his face with his
hands. "But I will speak to them," continued he after a pause; "surely
they 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 is
not a harder heart among them than that of Mr. Mackintosh, and it's
useless speaking to him or any one of them; and you must not be too
severe upon them neither: the boat is small, and could not hold more
people with the provisions which they take with them - that is the
fact. If they were to take you and your family into the boat, it might
be the cause of all perishing together; if I thought otherwise I would
try 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 will
dispose 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 I
have made up my mind to remain with you. They intend to take poor
Captain Osborn with them, and give him a chance, and have offered to
take 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 little
consequence. I care little whether I am taken away a year or two
sooner, but I do not like to see blossoms cut off in early spring: I
may be of use if I remain, for I've an old head upon my shoulders, and
I could not leave you all to perish when you might be saved if you only
knew how to act. But here the seamen come - the boat is all ready, and
they will now take poor Captain Osborn with them."

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

"Never mind me, Williams; I shall stick to the ship," replied Ready. "I
wish you success with all my heart; and, Mr. Mackintosh, I have but one
promise 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 on
board, and take measures for their being searched for among the
islands."

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter VII

For some time after the boat had shoved off from the ship, old Ready
remained with his arms folded, watching it in silence. Mr. Seagrave
stood by him; his heart was too full for utterance, for he imagined
that as the boat increased her distance from the vessel, so did every
ray of hope depart, and that his wife and children, himself, and the
old man who was by his side were doomed to perish. His countenance was
that 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 himself
decide that point - a power compared to which the efforts of weak man
are as nought."

"True," replied Mr. Seagrave, in a low voice; "but still what chance we
can 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 then
went aft, and shifted the helm, so as to put the ship again before the
wind.

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

"Mr. Seagrave, do not give way," said Ready; "if I thought our
situation hopeless, I would candidly say so; but there always is hope,
even at the very worst, - and there always ought to be trust in that
God without whose knowledge not a sparrow falls to the ground. But, Mr.
Seagrave, I shall speak as a seaman, and tell you what our
probabilities are. The ship is half-full of water, from her seams
having opened by the straining in the gale, and the heavy blows which
she received; but, now that the gale has abated, she has recovered
herself very much. I have sounded the well, and find that she has not
made many inches within the last two hours, and probably, as she closes
her seams, will make less. If, therefore, it pleases God that the fine
weather should continue, there is no fear of the vessel sinking under
us for some time; and as we are now amongst the islands, it is not
impossible, nay, it is very probable, that we may be able to run her
ashore, and thins save our hives. I thought of all this when I refused
to go in the boat, and I thought also, Mr. Seagrave, that if you were
to have been deserted by me as well as by all the rest, you would have
been unable yourself to take advantage of any chances which might turn
up in your favour, and therefore I have remained, hoping, under God's
providence, to be the means of assisting you and your family in this
sore position. I think now it would be better that you should go down
into the cabin, and with a cheerful face encourage poor Mrs. Seagrave
with the change in the weather, and the hopes of arriving in some place
of safety. If she does not know that the men have quitted the ship, do
not tell her; say that the steward is with the other men, which will be
true enough, and, if possible, leave her in the dark as to what has
taken place. Master William can be trusted, and if you will send him
here to me, I will talk to him."

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

"Do not speak of that, sir; I am an old man with few wants, and whose
life is of little use now. All I wish to feel is, that I am trying to
do 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, and
who 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 making
any 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. Juno
and William were the only two who were sitting up.

William made a sign to his father that his mother was asleep, and then
said in a whisper, "I did not like to leave the cabin while you were on
deck, hut the steward has not been here these two hours: he went to
milk 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 to
you."

William went on deck to Ready, who explained to him the position in
which they were placed; he pointed out to him the necessity of his
doing all he could to assist his father and him, and not to alarm his
mother in her precarious state of health. William, who, as it may be
expected, looked very grave, did, however, immediately enter into
Ready'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 why
the 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 go
and get the other things ready; I can leave the deck, for you see the
ship steers herself very nicely; - and, William, I have sounded the
well 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 have
fine weather, and a smooth sea before night."

By the united exertions of Ready and William the breakfast was prepared
while Mrs. Seagrave still continued in a sound sleep. The motion of the
ship was now very little: she only rolled very slowly from one side to
the other; the sea and wind had gone down, and the sun shone brightly
over their heads; the boat had been out of sight some time, and the
ship did not go through the water faster than three miles an hour, for
she had no other sail upon her than the main-topgallant sail hoisted up
on the stump of the foremast. Ready, who had been some time down in the
cabin, proposed to Mr. Seagrave that Juno and all the children should
go on deck. "They cannot be expected to be quiet, sir; and, now that
Madam is in such a sweet sleep, it would be a pity to wake her. After
so much fatigue she may sheep for hours, and the longer the better, for
you know that (in a short time, I trust) she will have to exert
herself." Mr. Seagrave agreed to the good sense of this proposal, and
went on deck with Juno and the children, leaving William in the cabin
to watch his mother. Poor Juno was very much astonished when she came
up the ladder and perceived the condition of the vessel, and the
absence of the men; but Mr. Seagrave told her what had happened, and
cautioned her against saying a word to Mrs. Seagrave. Juno promised
that she would not; but the poor girl perceived the danger of their
position, and, as she pressed little Albert to her bosom, a tear or two
rolled down her cheeks. Even Tommy and Caroline could not help asking
where 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 we
sailors have other signs and tokens. Do you see those birds hovering
over 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 the
longitude just now, at all events I can find out the latitude we are
in, and then by looking at the chart shall be able to give some kind of
guess whereabout we are, if we see land soon.

"It is nearly noon now," observed Ready, reading off his quadrant, "the
sun rises very slowly. What a happy thing a child is! Look, sir, at
those little creatures playing about, and as merry now, and as unaware
of 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; and
that it is selfish in parents to repine."

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

"It's twelve o'clock, sir. I'll just go down and work the latitude, and
then 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 - left
alone on the wide water with his wife and helpless family, with but one
to assist him: had that one deserted as well as the rest, what would
have been his position then? Utter helplessness! And now what had they
to expect? Their greatest hopes were to gain some island, and, if they
succeeded, perhaps a desert island, perhaps an island inhabited by
savages - to be murdered, or to perish miserably of hunger and thirst.
It was not until some time after these reflections had passed through
his mind, that Mr. Seagrave could recall himself to a sense of
thankfulness to the Almighty for having hitherto preserved them, or
could say with humility, "O Lord! thy will, not mine, be done." But,
having once succeeded in repressing his murmurs, he then felt that he
had courage and faith to undergo every trial which might be imposed
upon him.

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

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 to
hand. He soon procured a piece of salt beef and some potatoes, which he
put into the saucepan, and then returned on deck.

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

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

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

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

"Why so, Ready?"

"Only, sir, as the ship forges so slowly through the water, I fear that
we shall not reach it before dark, and I should have wished to have had
daylight 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, we
must do our best. But I must now go to the helm, for we must steer
right 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 tell
you that I do not think that she could be kept more than twenty-four
hours above water. I thought otherwise this morning when I sounded the
well; but when I went down in the hold for the beef, I perceived that
we were in more danger than I had any idea of; however, there is the
land, and every chance of escape; so let us thank the Lord for all his
mercies."

"Amen!" replied Mr. Seagrave.

Ready went to the helm and steered a course for the land, which was not
so far distant as he had imagined, for the island was very low: by
degrees 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 to
the land, and they could make out that it was a low coral island
covered with groves of cocoa-nuts. Occasionally Ready gave the helm up
to Mr. Seagrave, and went forward to examine. When they were within
three or four miles of it, Ready came back from the forecastle and
said, "I think I see my way pretty clear, sir: you see we are to the
windward of the island, and there is always deep water to the windward
of 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, as
it were, or she may fall back into deep water after she has taken the
ground, for sometimes these islands run up like a wall, with forty or
fifty fathom of water close to the weather-sides of them; but I see a
spot where I think she may be put on shore with safety. You see those
three cocoa-nut trees close together on the beach? Now, sir, I cannot
well see them as I steer, so do you go forward, and if I am to steer
more to the right, put out your right hand, and if to the left, the
same 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 and
directed the steering of the vessel as they neared the island. When
they 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-side
of the island would not be so steep as was usually the case: still it
was an agitating moment as they ran on to beach. They were now within a
cable's length, and still the ship did not ground; a little nearer, and
there was a grating at her bottom - it was the breaking off of the
coral-trees which grew below like forests under water - again she
grated, and more harshly, then struck, and then again; at last she
struck violently, as the swell lifted her further on, and then remained
fast amid quiet. Ready let go the helm to ascertain the position of the
ship. He looked over the stern and around the ship, and found that she
was 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 us
return 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 noise
under 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?" exclaimed
Mrs. Seagrave, when her husband went down below. "I have been so
frightened - I was in a sound sleep, and I was awakened with such a
dreadful noise."

"Be composed, my dear," replied Mr. Seagrave; "we have been in great
danger, and are now, I trust, in safety. Tell me, are you not better
for 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 was
concealed from you; but now, as I expect we shall all go on shore in a
short time--"

"Go on shore, my dear?"

"Yes, on shore. Now be calm, and hear what has happened, and how much
we 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 threw
herself in his arms and wept bitterly. Mr. Seagrave remained with his
wife, using all his efforts to console her, until Juno reappeared with
the 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 been
looking well about me, and I think that we have great reason to be
thankful. The ship is fast enough, and will not move until some violent
gales come on and break her up; but of that there is no fear at
present: the little wind that there is, is going down, and we shall
have a calm before morning."

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

"I have thought of that too, sir, and I must have your assistance, and
even that of Master William, to get the little boat on board to repair
her: her bottom is stove in, it is true, but I am carpenter enough for
that, and with some well-tarred canvas I can make her sufficiently
water-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 as
there are on that island, there is no fear of starvation, even if we
had not the ship's provisions. I expect a little difficulty with regard
to water, for the island is low and small; but we cannot expect to find
everything exactly as we wish."

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

"Mr. Seagrave, as an old man compared to you, I may venture to say that
you are ungrateful to Heaven to give way to these repinings. What is
said in the book of Job? `Shall we receive good of the Lord, and shall
we not receive evil?' Besides, who knows whether good may not proceed
from what appears evil? I beg your pardon, Mr. Seagrave, I hope I have
not offended you; but, indeed, sir, I felt that it was my duty to speak
as 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 once
more 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 herds
upon 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 till
tomorrow 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 for
hoisting up to-morrow morning to get the boat in. You see, with so
little strength on board, and no masts, we shall be obliged to
contrive."

Mr. Seagrave assisted Ready in getting the two spars aft, and laid on
the spot which was required. "There now, Mr. Seagrave, you may go down
below. William had better let loose the two dogs, and give them a
little victuals, for we have quite forgot them, poor things. I shall
keep 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 his
tackles ready for the morrow. When all was done, he sat down upon one
of the hen-coops aft, and remained in deep thought. At last, tired with
watching and exertion, the old man fell asleep. He was awakened at
daylight by the dogs, who had been set at liberty, and who, after
walking about the ship and finding nobody, had then gone to sleep at
the cabin door. At daybreak they had roused up, and going on deck had
found old Ready asleep on the hen-coop, and were licking his face in
their joy at having discovered him. "Ay," said the old man, as he got
off the hen-coop, "you'll all three be useful, if I mistake not, by and
by. Down, Vixen, down - poor creature, you've lost a good master, I'm
afraid."

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

Ready placed the logboard on the hen-coop, and then wrote on it with
the chalk:-- "Three dogs, two goats, and Billy the kid (I think there's
five pigs); fowls (quite enough); three or four pigeons (I'm sure); the
cow (she has lain down and won't get up again, I'm afraid, so we must
kill her); and there's the merino ram and sheep belonging to Mr.
Seagrave - plenty of live stock. Now, what's the first things we must
get on shore after we are all landed - a spar and topgallant sail for a
tent, a coil or two of rope, a mattress or two for Madam and the
children, two axes, hammer and nails, something to eat - yes, and
something to cut it with. There, that will do for the present," said
old Ready, getting up. "Now, I'll just light the fire, get the water
on, and, while I think of it, boil two or three pieces of beef and pork
to go on shore with them; and then I'll call up Mr. Seagrave, for I
reckon 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 their
assistance the sheers were raised, and secured in their place; the boat
was then hooked on, but, as one person was required to bear it clear of
the davits and taffrail, they could not hoist it in.

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

William soon returned with Juno, who was a strong girl; and, with her
assistance, 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, all
ready for pitching the canvas when it was nailed on. It was not till
dinner-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 pitch
both inside and out.

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

A rope was made fast to the boat, to hold her to the ship: she was then
launched over the gunnel by the united exertions of Mr. Seagrave and
Ready, and to their great satisfaction she appeared to leak very
little.

"Now, sir," said Ready, "what shall we do first - take some things on
shore, 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 hundred
yards 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 two
other things."

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

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

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

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

The sand extended about forty yards from the water, and then commenced
the brushwood, which ran back about forty yards further, intermingled
with single cocoa-nut trees, until it joined the cocoa-nut grove. They
pulled the boat in and landed.

"What a lovely spot this is!" exclaimed Mr. Seagrave; "and perhaps
mortal man has never yet visited it till now: those cocoa-nuts have
borne their fruit year after year, have died, and others have sprung up
in 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 to
it."

"Providence is bountiful, Mr. Seagrave," replied Ready, "and supplies
our wants when we least expect it. If you please we will walk a little
way into the wood: take the gun as a precaution, sir; not that there
appears to be much occasion for it - there is seldom anything wild on
these small islands, except a pig or two has been put on shore by
considerate 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 I
think that on that little rise would be a very good place till we can
look about us and do better; but we have no time now, sir, for we have
plenty of trips to make before nightfall. If you please, we'll haul the
sail and other articles on to the beach, and then return on board."

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

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

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

As soon as they arrived on board, Mr. Seagrave went down to cheer his
wife 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 the
sheers, and dragging them forward, had launched them over the gunnel,
with lines fast to them, ready for towing on shore. In a few minutes
Juno and Tommy made their appearance on deck; Ready put some tools into
the boat, and a couple of shovels, which he brought up when he went for
the dogs, and once more they landed at the sandy cove. Tommy stared
about him a great deal, but did not speak, until he saw the shells
lying on the beach, when he screamed with delight, and began to pick
them up as fast as he could; the dogs barked and galloped about,
overjoyed at being once more on shore; and Juno smiled as she looked
around 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 of
the way of Tommy, who fingers everything, I observe. We will take up
the sail between us. Juno, you can carry the tools; and then we can
come 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 make
you of some use."

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

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

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

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

Having by this plan succeeded in lashing the spar high enough, and
throwing 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 pegs
from the brush wood to fasten the sail down to the ground, and then
with the shovel cover the bottom of it with sand to keep it down, it
will be close enough when it is all finished."

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

"Yes; and in the meantime, Juno, take a shovel, and level the inside of
the 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, you
must not run away; and you must not touch the axes, they will cut you
if you do. It may be as well to say, Mr. Seagrave, that should anything
happen, 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 to
acquaint 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 should
occur Mr. Seagrave would fire the musket. He then went down into the
sail-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 at
the foot of the ladder, when the report of the musket was heard, and
Mrs. Seagrave rushed out of the cabin in the greatest alarm; Ready
seized another musket, jumped into the boat, and pulled on shore as
fast as he could. On his arrival, quite out of breath, for as he pulled
on shore he had his back towards it, and could see nothing, he found
Mr. Seagrave and Juno busy with the tent, and Tommy sitting on the
ground crying very lustily. It appeared that, while Mr Seagrave and
Juno were employed, Tommy had crept away to where the musket was placed
up on end against a cocoa-nut tree, and, after pulling it about some
little while, had touched the trigger. The musket went off; and, as the
muzzle was pointed upwards, the charge had brought down two large
cocoa-nuts. Mr. Seagrave, who was aware what an alarm this would
produce on board the vessel, had been scolding him soundly, and now
Master 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 then
recommenced 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, the
saucepan 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 was
nobody but himself in it, he came on shore very well. Having, with the
assistance of Mr. Seagrave and Juno, got all the things up to the
knoll, Ready lashed the spar up for the second tent, and then leaving
them to fix it up like the other, he returned again on board. He made
two other trips to the ship, bringing with him more bedding, a bag of
ship's biscuits, another of potatoes, plates, knives and forks, spoons,
frying-pans and other cooking utensils, and a variety of other
articles. He then showed Juno how to fill up the ends of the first tent
with the canvas and sails he had brought on shore, so as to inclose it
all 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 that
Mrs. Seagrave should come on shore now; so, if you please, we'll go off
and fetch her and the children. I think we shall be able to do very
well for the first night; and if it pleases God to give us fine
weather, we may do a great deal more to-morrow."

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

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

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

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

"I shall not return on board any more to-night," said Ready, "I feel
tired - 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 me
a little water?"

"Stop, William, I will," said Mr. Seagrave, taking up a tin can which
had 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, and
felt much revived. Juno was very busy; she had given the children some
of the salt meat and biscuit to eat. The baby, and Tommy, and Caroline
had been put to bed, and the second tent was nearly ready.

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

"Yes, sir," replied Ready, "and I think we ought to thank God for his
mercies 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 all
retired to rest.

Chapter XI

Mr. Seagrave was the first who awoke and rose from his bed on the
ensuing morning. He stepped out of the tent, and looked around him. The
sky was clear and brilliant. A light breeze ruffled o'er the surface of
the water, and the tiny waves rippled one after another upon the white
sand of the cove. To the left of the cove the land rose, forming small
hills, 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 the
sea, 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 powerful
where its beams could penetrate; but where Mr. Seagrave stood, the
cocoa-nuts waved their feathery leaves to the wind, and offered an
impervious shade. A feeling of the extreme beauty of the scene, subdued
by the melancholy created by the sight of the wrecked vessel, pervaded
the mind of Mr. Seagrave as he meditated over it.

"Yes," thought he, "if, tired with the world and its anxieties, I had
sought an abode of peace and beauty, it would have been on a spot like
this. How lovely is the scene! - what calm - what content - what a
sweet sadness does it create! How mercifully have we been preserved
when all hope appeared to be gone; and how bountifully have we been
provided for, now that we have been saved, - and yet I have dared to
repine, 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 a
seclusion 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 his
wisdom 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 rugged
bark! - Had it not been for his devotion where might I and all those
dear helpless creatures have been now?"

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

"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 a
sound sleep, and that Juno had got up without waking her or the two
children.

"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 or
matches."

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

"But, father, when we have lighted the fire, what have we to cook? we
have 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 our
breakfast off the cold beef and pork and ship's biscuit for once, and
not use the potatoes? we may want them all to plant, you know. But why
should we not go on board of the ship ourselves? you can pull an oar
pretty well, and we must all learn to work now, and not leave
everything for poor old Ready to do. Come, William."

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

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

William first went down to the cabin for the tea and coffee, and then
left his father to collect other things while he went to milk the
goats, which he did in a tin pan. He then poured the milk into a
bottle, which he had washed out, that it might not be spilt, and went
back 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 a
whole quantity of clothes - they will please mamma: the clean ones are
all 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 long
for her Bible and prayer-book; - here they are."

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

In a short time everything was put into the boat, and they pulled on
shore again. They found Juno, who had been washing herself, waiting for
them 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 has
both hooks and lines somewhere. Come, Juno, take up this bundle of
linen to your tent: we can manage all the rest."

When they arrived at the tent they found that every one was awake
except Ready, who appeared still to sleep very sound. Mrs. Seagrave had
passed a very good night, and felt herself much refreshed. William made
some touch-paper, which he lighted with one of the glasses from the
telescope, and they soon had a good fire. Mr. Seagrave went to the
beach, and procured three large stones to rest the saucepan on; and in
half 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 the
water up to her knees, had dipped them in all over, as the shortest way
of washing them, and had then dressed them and left them with their
mother, while she assisted William to get the cups and saucers and
plates for breakfast. Everything was laid out nice and tidy between the
two 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 had
sleep 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 he
lay down. He put it on, and came out of the tent; when, to his
astonishment, he found the whole party (Mrs. Seagrave having come out
with the children) standing round the breakfast, which was spread on
the 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 I
would 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 am
not 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 not
been for you and your kindness, where should we have been now?"

"We can get a breakfast ready without you," said Mr. Seagrave; "but
without you, I think we never should have required another breakfast by
this time. But we will tell Ready all we have done while we eat our
breakfast: now, my dear, if you please." Mrs. Seagrave then read a
chapter 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 on
board, and what they had brought on shore, and he also mentioned how
Juno had dipped all the children in the sea.

"But Juno must not do that again," replied Ready, "until I have made
all 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 the
windward of the islands where we are at present; but still that smooth
cove is a very likely place for them to come into; so it's just as well
not to go in again, Juno, until I have time to make a place for you to
bathe in in safety. As soon as we can get as much as we want from the
ship, 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 necessary
of life - if there is no water on this side of the island, we must
pitch our tents somewhere else."

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

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

The whole day was spent in landing every variety of article which they
thought 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 hearty
dinner, the cabin tables and chairs, all their clothes, some boxes of
candles, two bags of coffee, two of rice, two more of biscuits, several
pieces of beef and pork and bags of flour, some more water, the
grindstone, and Mrs. Seagrave's medicine-chest were landed. When Ready
came off again, he said, "Our poor boat is getting very leaky, and will
not take much more on shore without being repaired; and Juno has not
been able to get half the things up - they are too heavy for one
person. I think we shall do pretty well now, Mr. Seagrave; and we had
better, before it is dark, get all the animals on shore. I don't much
like to trust them to swim on shore, but they are awkward things in a
boat. We'll try a pig, at all events; and while I get one up, do you
and William tie the legs of the fowls, and put them into the boat; as
for 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 her
plenty of hay, and if she don't rise, why I will kill her, and we can
salt her down."

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

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

"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 the
water with a heavy splash. "Well, he's gone; better the pig than your
little children, Mr. Seagrave."

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

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

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

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

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

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

"We shall have plenty to do here to-morrow," observed Mr. Seagrave, "in
getting 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 all
the articles we have brought on shore: that will be one good day's
work; we shall then know where to lay our hands upon everything, and
see 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 the
island, 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 tree
so valuable as the cocoa-nut tree; and the wood is so light that we can
easily 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 build
the house with; then you have the bark with which you can make ropes
and lines, and fishing-nets if you please; then you have the leaves for
thatching your house; then you have the fruit, which, as a nut, is good
to 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 the
shell to make cups of, if you haven't any, and then you can draw toddy
from the tree, which is very pleasant to drink when fresh, but will
make you tipsy if it is kept too long. There is no tree which yields so
many 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 had
there been but few, I should not have liked to destroy them. People
might be wrecked here, as well as ourselves, and without the good
fortune that we have had in getting so many necessaries on shore; and
they might be obliged to depend wholly upon the cocoa-nut trees for
their 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 exploring
party for to-morrow; and, when we have settled that, we will find some
useful way of employing ourselves for the rest of the day. The first
question is, of whom is the party to consist? - and upon that I wish to
hear your opinion."

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

"Surely not both of you, my dear," interrupted Mrs. Seagrave. "You can
do 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 not
think that William would be quite sufficient protection for you; or, at
all events, you would not feel that he was, which is much the same
thing; and so, if Mr. Seagrave has no objection, it would perhaps be
better 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 accident
might happen; there is no saying what might happen, although there is
every appearance of safety. I should like, therefore, to have some one
with 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 take
care of you. No; I think they cannot spare you. Your mamma will want
you 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 mother
cannot 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 you
could 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 has
preserved us in such awful dangers - how we are landed in safety. And
now, 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 will
shake it off. Hitherto I have only been a clog and an incumbrance to
you; but I trust I shall soon behave better, and make myself useful. If
you think, then, that it would be better that you should go instead of
William, I am quite content. Go, then, with Ready, and may Heaven
protect you both!"

"No, ma'am," replied Ready, "William will do just as well. Indeed, I
would go by myself with pleasure; but we know not what the day may
bring forth. I might be taken ill - I might hurt myself - I am an old
man, you know; and then I was thinking that if any accident was to
happen 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 provisions
and water with us, a gun and some ammunition, a large axe for me, and
one of the hatchets for William; and, if you please, Romulus and Remus
had better come with us. Juno, put a piece of beef and a piece of pork
into 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 the
grindstone, it would be of great service, and Tommy can turn it, he is
so fond of work."

Tommy jumped up directly; he was quite strong enough to turn the
grindstone, but he was much fonder of play than work; but as Ready had
said 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 the
night, the axe was sharpened, the knapsacks made, and everything else
ready.

"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 heat
is 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 start
to-morrow morning, which is Wednesday, I hope to be back some time on
Friday evening; but I won't be later than Saturday morning if I can
help it."

"Good-night - and good-bye, mother," said William, "for I shall not see
you 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 not
suppress.

Chapter XIV

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

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

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

"No, I am sure I cannot tell; I was thinking of the very same thing
when you spoke; and of Tom Thumb, who strewed peas to find his way
back, 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; we
must do as the Americans always do in their woods, - we must blaze the
trees."

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

"No, no, William. Blaze is a term they use when they cut a slice of the
bark off the trunk of a tree, just with one blow of a sharp axe, as a
mark to find their way back again. They do not blaze every tree, but
about every tenth tree as they go along, first one to the right, and
then one to the left, which is quite sufficient; and it is very little
trouble, - they do it as they walk along, without stopping. So now
we'll begin: you take the other side, it will be more handy for you to
have your hatchet in your right hand; I can use my left. See now - just
a 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 must
use him soon."

"What is that?"

"Poor Captain Osborn's pocket-compass. You see, William, the blazing
will direct us how to go back again; but it will not tell us what
course we are now to steer. At present, I know we are going right, as I
can 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 the
spade with us - what will be the use of it? You did not say yesterday
that 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 any
water on this island; if there is not, we shall have to quit it sooner
or later, for although we may get water by digging in the sand, it
would 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 not
show 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 more
things than perhaps your father and mother would: they have never known
what it is to be put to their shifts; but a man like me, who has been
all his life at sea, and who has been wrecked, and suffered hardships
and difficulties, and has been obliged to think or die, has a greater
knowledge, not only from his own sufferings, but by hearing how others
have acted when they were in distress. Necessity sharpens a man's wits;
and it is very curious what people do contrive when they are compelled
to 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; we
landed on the windward side; the wind is at our back; now put up your
finger, 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 go
forward to see." Ready advanced cautiously with the gun to his hip. The
dogs barked more furiously; and at last, out of a heap of cocoa-nut
leaves collected together, burst all the pigs which had been brought on
shore, grunting and galloping away as fast as they could, with the dogs
in pursuit of them.

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

"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 wild
animals on this island, or even savages; but being alarmed is one
thing, and being afraid is another: a man may be alarmed, and stand his
ground; but a man that is afraid will run away."

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

"I'm sure you will not; but still you must not be rash; and now we will
go on again, as soon as I have uncocked my gun. I have seen more
accidents happen from people cocking their guns, and forgetting to
uncock 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 for
more than an hour longer, marking the trees as they went along; they
then sat down to take their breakfast.

"Don't give the dogs any water, William, nor any of the salt meat; give
them 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 the
next, I wish them to be thirsty. And, William, take my advice, and only
drink a small quantity of water at a time. The more you drink, the more
you want."

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

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

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

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

"Not in the least; I am tired of seeing nothing but the stems of
cocoa-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 can
judge, we must be about half-way across now."

Ready and William recommenced their journey; and, after half-an-hour's
walking, 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 a
better 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 with
cocoa-nut trees, even thicker together than before. They continued
their march, occasionally looking at the compass, until William showed
symptoms of weariness, for the wood had become more difficult to get
through 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's
slow work, travelling by compass and marking the trees; but I think the
wood 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. As
soon 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," said
William, as he impatiently pushed on, and at last stood clear of the
cocoa-nut grove. Ready soon joined him, and they surveyed the scene
before them in silence.

Chapter XV

"Oh! how beautiful!" exclaimed William, at last; "I'm sure mamma would
like 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 grove
terminated about a quarter of a mile from the beach, very abruptly, for
there was a rapid descent for about thirty feet from where they stood
to the land below, on which was a mixture of little grass knolls and
brushwood, to about fifty yards from the water's edge, where it was met
with dazzling white sand, occasionally divided by narrow ridges of rock
which ran inland. The water was a deep blue, except where it was broken
into white foam on the reefs, which extended for miles from the beach,
and the rocks of which now and then showed themselves above water. On
the rocks were perched crowds of gannets and men-of-war birds, while
others wheeled in the air, every now and then darting down into the
blue sea, and bringing up in their bills a fish out of the shoals which
rippled the water, or bounded clear of it in their gambols. The form of
the coast was that of a horse-shoe bay - two points of land covered
with 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 horizon
right and left, and then he turned his eyes along the land. At last
William 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, and
therefore there is less chance of getting off this island; and this
bay, although very beautiful, is full of reefs, and I see no inlet,
which makes it awkward for many reasons. But we cannot judge at first
sight. Let us now sit down and take our dinner, and after that we will
explore a little."

Ready cut two wide marks in the stems of the cocoa-nut trees, and then
descended with William to the low ground, where they sat down to eat
their dinner. As soon as their meal was finished they first walked down
to the water's edge, and Ready turned his eyes inland to see if he
could discover any little ravine or hollow which might be likely to
contain fresh water. "There are one or two places there," observed
Ready, pointing to them with his finger, "where the water has run down
in the rainy season: we must examine them carefully, but not now. I
want to find out whether there is any means of getting our little boat
through 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 through
that 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, poor
things!"

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

"How beautiful the corals are - look here, they grow like little trees
under the water, - and look here, here is really a flower in bloom
growing 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 or
not. Now, let us walk out to the end of this point of land, and see if
we can discover any opening in the reef. The sun is going down, and we
shall not have more than an hour's daylight, and then we must look out
for a place to sleep in."

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

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

"Can't we catch them?"

"Yes, we can catch them if we go about it quietly; but you must take
care not to go behind them, or they will throw such a shower of sand
upon you, with their hind flappers or fins, that they would blind you
and escape at the same time. The way to catch them is to get at their
heads and turn them over on their backs by one of the fore-fins, and
then 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 we
shall 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 put
them 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 the
brushwood which grew thick upon the point of land, soon arrived at the
end of it.

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

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

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

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

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

"No, do not give them any: it appears to be cruel, but I want the
intelligence of the poor animals to-morrow, and the want of water will
make 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 to
beg his care over us for this night. We little know what the day may
bring forth. Good-night!"

Chapter XVI

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

"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 is
kindness 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 find
any water. Let us first go to the little dell to the right, and if we
do not succeed, we will try farther on where the water has run down
during the rainy season." William was very glad to go, and away they
went, followed by the dogs, Ready having taken up the spade, which he
carried on his shoulder. They soon came to the dell, and the dogs put
their noses to the ground, and snuffed about. Ready watched them; at
last they lay down panting.

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

"You see, William, these poor dogs are now so eager for water, that if
there is any, they will find it out where we never could. I don't
expect water above-ground, but there may be some below it. This beach
is hardly far enough from the water's edge, or I should try in the sand
for 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 very
often when the sand runs in a long way from the high-water mark, if you
dig down, you will find good fresh water, at other times it is a little
brackish, but still fit for use."

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

"Thanks to Heaven that they are! You don't know how happy you have made
me 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 advantage
of having kept them in pain for a few hours; it is in all probability
the saving of all of us, for we must either have found water or quitted
this island. Now let us help the poor dogs with the spade, and they
shall soon be rewarded for their sufferings."

Ready walked quickly to where the dogs continued digging: they had
already got down to the moist earth, and were so eagerly at work, that
it was with difficulty he could get them out of his way to use his
spade. He had not dug two feet before the water trickled down, and in
four 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 more
grateful when Moses struck the rock than I do now, William. This was
the one thing wanting, but it was the one thing indispensable. Now we
have everything we can wish for on this island, and if we are only
content, we may be happy - ay, much happier than are those who are
worrying themselves to heap up riches, not knowing who shall gather
them. See, the poor animals have had enough at last. Now, shall we go
back to breakfast?"

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

"That is a plenteous spring, depend upon it," said Ready, as they
walked back to where they had slept and left their knapsacks; "but we
must clear it out further up among the trees, where the sun cannot
reach it, and then it will be cool, and not be dried up. We shall have
plenty of work for the next year at least, if we remain here. Where we
are 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 and
explore the other point, for you see, William, I have not yet found a
passage through the reef, and as our little boat must come round this
side of the island, it is at the point on this side that I must try to
find an entrance. When I was on the opposite point it did appear to me
that the water was not broken close to this point; and should there be
a passage we shall be very fortunate."

They soon arrived at the end of the point of land, and found that Ready
was not wrong in his supposition; the water was deep, and there was a
passage 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 as
they darted along. "Look there!" said Willy, pointing out about fifty
yards 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 the
water: the sharks always keep to the leeward of the island, and for one
where Juno bathed your little brother, you will find fifty here. I'm
quite satisfied now, William, we shall do very well, and all we have
now to think of is moving away from the other side of the island as
fast as possible."

"Shall we go back to-day?"

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

As they walked along the edge of the sandy beach they found the
sea-birds hovering close to them: all of a sudden a large shoal of fish
threw themselves high and dry on the sand, and they were followed by
several of a larger size, which also lay flapping on the beach, while
the sea-birds, darting down close to the feet of William and Ready, and
seizing 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 the
larger ones, which are bonettas, and in their fright ran upon the
beach. These bonettas were so anxious to catch them, that they came on
shore 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 some
boughs under the notched cocoa-nut trees, and, calling the dogs, set
off on their journey back again to the cove.

Chapter XVII

Guided by the marks made on the trees, William and Ready made rapid
progress in their return, and in less than two hours found themselves
almost clear of the wood which had taken them nearly eight hours to
force their way through the day before.

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

"I was just thinking the same," replied Ready. "I should not wonder if
there is a storm brewing up; and if so, the sooner we are back again
the 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 creaking
sound, proved that such was the fact; and as they emerged from the
grove, they perceived that the sky, as it became visible to them, was
of one dark leaden hue, and no longer of the brilliant blue which it
usually had presented to their sight.

"There is indeed a gale coming on," said Ready, as they cleared the
wood: "let us go on to the tents as fast as possible, for we must see
that 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 the
children, had remained within. In a moment more William was pressed in
his mother's arms.

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

"I am sure of it," replied Ready, "and we must expect a blusterous
night. This will be one of the storms which are forerunners of the
rainy season. However, we have good news for you, and must only take
this as a warning to hasten our departure as soon as possible. We shall
have fine weather after this for a month or so, although we must expect
a 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 the
boat as far from the beach as we possibly can, for the waves will be
high and run a long way up, and our boat will be our main dependence
soon."

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

"I meant to have worked upon her immediately," observed Ready; "but I
must wait now till the gale is over; and I did hope to have got on
board once more, and looked after some things which I have since
remembered would have been useful; but I strongly suspect," continued
he, looking at the weather, "that we shall never go on board of the
poor vessel again. Hear the moaning of the coming storm, sir; look how
the sea-birds wheel about and scream, as if to proclaim her doom; but
we must not wait here - the tents must be made more secure, for they
will 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 and
lines, and commenced putting it as a double cover over the tents, to
keep out the rain; they also secured the tents with guys and stays of
rope, so as to prevent them being blown down; while Juno with a shovel
deepened the trench which had been made round the tents, so that the
water might run off more easily. During the time they were at work,
Ready had made Mr. Seagrave acquainted with what they had discovered
and done during the exploring expedition, and the adventure with the
pigs made them all laugh heartily.

As the sun went down, the weather threatened still more; the wind blew
strong, and the rocky beach was lashed by the waves and white with
spray, while the surf roared as it poured in and broke upon the sand in
the cove. The whole family had retired to bed except Ready, who said
that he would watch the weather a little before he turned in. The old
man walked towards the beach, and leaned against the gunnel of the
boat, and there he remained with his keen gray eye fixed upon the
distance, which was now one opaque mass, except where the white foam of
the waters gleamed through the darkness of the night! "Yes!" thought
he; "the winds and the waves are summoned to do his bidding, and evenly
do they work together - as one rises, so does the other; when one
howls, the other roars in concert - hand in hand they go in their fury
and their force. Had they been called up but one week since, where
would have been those who have now been, as it were, intrusted to my
weak help? The father, the mother, the children, the infant at the
breast, and I, the gray-headed old man, - all buried fathoms deep,
awaiting our summons; but they were restrained by his will, and by his
will we were saved. Will those timbers which bore us here so
miraculously hold together till morning? I should think not. What are
the iron bolts and fastenings of weak man, compared with the force of
God's elements: they will snap as yarns; and by to-morrow's dawn, the
fragments of the stout ship will be washing and tossing on the wild
surf. Well, it will be a kindness to us, for the waters will perform
the labour which we could not; they will break up the timbers for our
use, and throw on shore from the hold those articles which we could not
reach with our little strength."

A sharp flash of lightning struck upon the old man's eyes, and
obstructed his vision for the moment. "The storm will soon be at its
height," thought he; "I will watch the tents, and see how they stand up
against its force." Then the rain came pattering down, and the wind
howled louder than before. In a minute or two the darkness became so
intense that he could hardly find his way back to the tents. He turned
round, but could not see, for he was blinded by the heavy rain. As
nothing could be done, he went into the tent and sheltered himself from
the storm, although he would not lie down, lest his services might be
required. The others had retired to bed, but with the exception of
Tommy and the children, they had not taken off their clothes.

Chapter XVIII

The storm now raged furiously, the lightning was accompanied by loud
peals of thunder, and the children awoke and cried with fright, till
they were hushed to sleep again. The wind howled as it pressed with all
its violence against the tents, while the rain poured off in torrents.
One moment the canvas of the tents would bulge in, and the cords which
held it strain and crack; at another, an eddy of wind would force out
the canvas, which would flap and flap, while the rain found many an
entrance. The tent in which Mrs. Seagrave and the children reposed was
on the outside of the others, and therefore the most exposed. About
midnight the wind burst on them with greater violence than before. A
loud crash was heard by Ready and Mr. Seagrave, followed by the shrieks
of Mrs. Seagrave and Juno; the pegs of the tent had given way, and the
inmates were exposed to the fury of the elements. Ready rushed out,
followed by Mr. Seagrave and William. So strong was the wind and
beating rain, and such was the darkness, that it was with some
difficulty that by their united efforts the women and children could be
extricated. Tommy was the first taken up by Ready: his courage had all
gone, and he was bellowing furiously. William took Albert in charge and
carried him into the other tent, where Tommy sat in his wet shirt
roaring most melodiously. Juno, Mrs. Seagrave, and the little girl were
at last carried away and taken into the other tent: fortunately no one
was hurt, although the frightened children could not be pacified, and
joined in chorus with Tommy. Nothing more could be done except to put
the children into bed, and then the whole party sat up the remainder of
the 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 had
already much abated; but it was not one of those bright glorious
mornings to which they had been accustomed since their arrival at the
island: the sky was still dark, and the clouds were chasing each other
wildly; 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 little
cove, but the day before so beautiful, was now a mass of foaming and
tumultuous waves, and the surf was thrown many yards upon the beach:
the horizon was confused - you could not distinguish the line between
the water and the sky, and the whole shore of the island was lined with
a white foam. Ready turned his eyes to where the ship had been fixed on
the rocks: it was no longer there - the whole frame had disappeared;
but the fragments of it, and the contents of the holds, were floating
about 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 not
to remain here any longer: we must make the most of the fine weather
which we may have before the rainy season sets in."

"I agree with you, Ready," replied Mr. Seagrave, - "and there is
another 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 fine
weather to-morrow. Let us now see what we can do with the tent, while
William and Juno try if they can get any breakfast."

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

"We need do no more at present," said Ready, "by night-time it will not
be so wet, and we can handle it easier. I see a break in the sky now
which promises fine weather soon. And now we had better work hard
to-day, for we may save a great many things, which may be dashed to
pieces 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 a
good stout rope; and as the waves threw up casks and timbers of the
vessel, they stopped them from being washed back again, and either
rolled 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 not
collected a quarter of the articles that were in their reach,
independent of the quantity which floated about out at sea and at the
entrance of the cove.

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

The tent which had not been blown down was given to Mrs. Seagrave and
the children, and the other was fitted up as well as it could be. The
bedding being all wet, they procured some sails from the stores, which,
being stowed away farther in the grove, had not suffered much from the
tempest; and, spreading the canvas, they lay down, and the night passed
without 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 no
surf. The various fragments of the wreck were tossed by the little surf
that still remained; many things were lying on the beach which had
landed during the night, and many more required but a little trouble to
secure 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 now
gradually coming on shore in that direction. Ready and Mr. Seagrave
worked till breakfast-time, and had by that time saved a great many
casks and packages.

After breakfast they went down again to the beach and resumed their
labours. "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 the
sharks 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 get
into the water, and never let Tommy go near it, for they don't care how
shallow it is when they see their food. But now, sir," said Ready, "I
must leave you and William to do what you can in saving any more of the
wreck, 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 in
collecting the different articles thrown on shore, and rolling up the
casks 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 the
island with William, that he might examine it himself; and, as Mrs.
Seagrave had no objection to be left with Ready and Juno, on the third
day after the gale they set off. William led the way, guiding his
footsteps through the grove by the blazing of the cocoa-nut trees; and
in 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 that
nothing could be more beautiful than the spot where we reside, but this
surpasses it, not only in variety, but in extent."

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

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

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

"Insects, father?" replied William.

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

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

"Almost all the islands in these seas have been made by the labour and
increase of these small animals. The coral grows at first at the bottom
of the sea, where it is not disturbed by the winds or waves: by
degrees, 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 stopped
in 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 animals
would 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 sufficient
commencement, for it would remain above water, and then shelter the
coral to leeward of it, until a flat rock had formed, level with the
edge of the water. The sea-birds are always looking for a place to rest
upon, and they would soon find it, and then their droppings would, in
course of time, form a little patch above water, and other floating
substances would be thrown on it; and land-birds, who are blown out to
sea, 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 it
were, and, once commenced, it soon increases, for the coral would then
be protected to leeward, and grow up fast. Do you observe how the coral
reefs extend at this side of the island, where they are protected from
the winds and waves; and how different it is on the weather side, which
we have just left? Just so the little patch above water protects the
corals to leeward, and there the island increases fast; for the birds
not 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-nut
in its great outside shell at last is thrown on these little patches -
it takes root, and becomes a tree, every year shedding its large
branches, which are turned into mould as soon as they decay, and then
dropping its nuts, which again take root and grow in this mould; and
thus they continue, season after season, and year after year, until the
island becomes as large and as thickly covered with trees as the one we
are now standing upon. Is not this wonderful, my dear boy? Is not he a
great and good God who can make such minute animals as these work his
pleasure, and at the time he thinks fit produce such a beautiful island
as this?"

"Indeed he is!" exclaimed William.

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

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

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

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

Chapter XX

Everything was now preparing for their removal to the leeward side of
the island. Ready had nearly completed the boat; he had given it a
thorough repair, and fitted a mast and sail. William and Mr. Seagrave
continued 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 be
sheltered from the sun; but there were so many things thrown on shore
day after day, that they hardly knew what they had: but they secured
case and cask one after another, waiting for a better opportunity to
examine their contents. At last they collected a great many articles
together, and, with their shovels, covered them over with sand, it
being impossible to get them from the beach without more time than they
could spare.

Neither was Mrs. Seagrave, who was now getting quite strong, or Juno,
idle. They had made up everything that they could in packages, ready
for moving. On the eighth day after the gale, they were ready, and it
was arranged that Ready should put into the boat the bedding and canvas
of one tent, and should take William with him on his expedition. Having
transported this safe, he should return for a load of the most
necessary articles, and then the family should walk through the grove
to the other side of the island, and remain there with Mr. Seagrave
while Ready and William returned for the other tent; and after that,
the boat should make as many trips as the weather would permit, till
they had brought all the things absolutely required. It was a lovely
calm morning when Ready and William pushed off in the boat, which was
well loaded; and as soon as they were clear of the cove they hoisted
the sail, and went away before the wind along the coast. In two hours
they had run to the eastern end of the island, and hauled up close
inshore: the point which ran out, and at the end of which there was an
inlet, was not a mile from them, and in a very short time they had
lowered the sail, and were pulling in for the sandy beach.

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

"Indeed it is. How many miles do you think it is from the cove to this
part 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 be
back to the cove long before dark."

The boat was soon unloaded, but they had some way to carry up the
things. "We shall not mind such a gale as we had the other day when our
tents are pitched here, William," said Ready, "for we shall be
protected by the whole width of the cocoa-nut grove. We shall hardly
feel the wind, although we shall the rain, for that will come down in
torrents."

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

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

They very soon pulled in to the beach, and, landing, received the
congratulations of the whole party at their first successful voyage,
and all expressed their delight at its having proved so much shorter
than 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 are
all safe on the other side of the island we hope to feed you better. At
present it is hard work and hard fare."

"As long as the children are well, I care very little about it; but I
must say that, after the last gale, I am as anxious as you to be on the
other side of the island, especially after the account William has
given 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 I
must have another trip for the cooking utensils and the bundles which
you have made up. If you will spare Juno to walk through the wood with
William to-morrow, we will then have the tent ready for you and the
children."

Chapter XXI

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

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

"I tink 'em wild beast," said Juno. "Ah! what a nice place! Missis will
like 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; they
are 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 you
please."

"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 have
become plentiful, if we remain here so long. We shall soon be well
stocked and live in plenty. But now you must help me to get the tent up
and everything in order, so that your mamma may find things comfortable
on her arrival, for she will be very tired, I dare say, walking through
the wood."

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

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

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

"In the first place we have to build a house, and that will take a long
while. Then we ought to make a little garden, and sow the seeds which
your 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 the
brushwood; the mould is very good."

"Then what next?"

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

"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 a
bathing-place for Juno to wash the children in. But first we must make
a proper well at the spring, so as to have plenty of fresh water: now
there's enough for a year's hard work at least."

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

"I should wish very much to see it all done, William," said Ready. "I
hope 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 strong
and healthy."

"I am so now; but what does the Book say? - `In the midst of life we
are in death'. You are young and healthy, and promise a long life; but
who knows but you may be summoned away tomorrow. Can I, then, an old
man, 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 then
I trust I may depart in peace. I never wish to leave this island; and I
have a kind of feeling that my bones will remain on it. God's will be
done!"

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 broke
the 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 other
person?"

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

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

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

"How old are you, Ready?"

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

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

"Because sailors live faster than other people, partly from the
hardships which they undergo, and partly from their own fault in
drinking so much spirits; and then they are too often reckless and care
nothing 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 hours
yet, 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 here
to-morrow long before any of you, and I will take care that supper is
ready on your arrival."

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

"You proved yourself not only thoughtful but kind, William: now while
you and Juno fetch the stones for the fireplace, I will stow away under
the 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 is
better 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 off
on their journey back.

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

Chapter XXII

Ready arrived at the cove, and proceeded to the tents, where he found
the whole party listening to William, who was detailing what had been
done. The arrangements for the next day were made as soon as Ready
joined them. They then separated for the night, but Ready and William
remained 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 all
were summoned to dress themselves as soon as possible, as Ready wanted
to take down the tent in which Mrs. Seagrave and the children had
slept. For, with the exception of Tommy, the others had slept upon some
canvas, which they had spread out under the cocoa-nut trees. As soon as
Mrs. Seagrave was dressed, the tent was taken down, and, with all the
bedding, put into the boat. Then, when they had breakfasted, the
plates, 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 for
their new location.

After he was gone, the rest of the party prepared for their journey
through the cocoa-nut grove. William led the way, with the three dogs
close to his heels, Mr. Seagrave with the baby in his arms, Juno with
little Caroline, and Mrs. Seagrave with Master Tommy holding her hand.
They cast a last look round at the cove, and the fragments of the wreck
and cargo, strewed about in every direction, and then turned into the
wood. Ready arrived at the point, and was again on shore in less than
two hours after he had set off. As soon as the boat was safe in, he did
not wait to land his cargo, but going up to the turtle which he had
turned the day before, he killed it, and cleaned it on the beach. He
then went to where they had built up the fireplace with stones, made a
fire, filled the iron saucepan full of water, and set it on to boil; he
then cut up a portion of the turtle, and put it into the pot, with some
slices of salt pork, covered it up, and left it to boil; and having
hung up the rest of the turtle in the shade, he went back to the beach
to unload the boat. He released the poor fowls, and they were soon busy
seeking for food.

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

"It's almost time they arrived," thought Ready; "they must have started
nearly four hours ago." Ready remained a quarter of an hour more
watching the fire, and occasionally skimming the top of the pot, when
the 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 had
been tired out, and Juno had to carry her; then Mrs. Seagrave
complained of fatigue, and they had to rest a quarter of an hour; then
Tommy, who refused to remain with his mamma, and had been running
backwards and forwards from one to the other, had declared that he was
tired, and that someone must carry him; but there was no one to carry
him, so he began to cry until they stopped for another quarter of an
hour till he was rested; then as soon as they went on again he again
complained of being tired. William then carried him pickaback for some
time, and in so doing he missed the blaze-cut on the trees, and it was
a long while before he could find it again; then baby became hungry,
and he cried, and little Caroline was frightened at being so long in
the wood, and she cried. But finally they got on better, and arrived at
last so warm and exhausted, that Mrs. Seagrave went into the tent with
the children to repose a little, before she could even look at the
place which was to be their future residence.

"I think," said Mr. Seagrave, "that this little journey of to-day has
been a pretty good proof of how helpless we should have been without
you, Ready."

"I am glad that you are here, sir," replied Ready, "it is a weight off
my mind; now you will get on better. I think that after a while you may
live very comfortably here; but still we have much to do. As soon as
Madam 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 to
empty our storehouses; and as to the other things, we can examine them
and bring them down at our leisure. As soon as I have made those three
trips 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; but
the children had all fallen fast asleep on the beds. They waited
another half-hour, and then woke Tommy and Caroline, that they might
all 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 that
you are tired of salt meat, so now you are going to feed like
aldermen."

"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 you
any 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 the
sea.

"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 by
boiling down salt-water in the kettle, or else making a salt-pan in the
rocks, and obtaining it by the sun drying up the water and leaving the
salt. Salt is always procured in that way, either by evaporation, or
boiling."

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

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

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

Chapter XXIII

Mr. Seagrave was the first up on the ensuing morning; and when Ready
came out of the tent, he said to him, "Do you know, Ready, I feel much
happier and my mind much more at ease since I find myself here. On the
other side of the island everything reminded me that we had been
shipwrecked; 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 had
come 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 which
you wish we should set about?"

"I think, sir, the first object is to have a good supply of fresh
water; and I therefore wish you and William - Here he is. Good-morning,
William - I was saying that I thought it better that Mr. Seagrave and
you should clear out the spring while I am away in the boat. I brought
another shovel with me yesterday, and you both can work; perhaps we had
better go there, as Juno, I see, is getting the breakfast ready. You
observe, Mr. Seagrave, we must follow up the spring till we get among
the cocoa-nut trees, where it will be shaded from the sun; that is
easily 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 earth
one of the water-casks which lie on the beach, I will bring it down
with me this afternoon; and then, when it is fixed in the earth in that
way, we shall always have the cask full of water for use, and the
spring filling it as fast as we empty it."

"I understand," replied Mr. Seagrave; "that shall be our task while you
are 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 cut
off some slices from the turtle, and cook turtle-steaks for dinner, as
well as to warm up the soup which was left; and then, with a biscuit
and a piece of beef in his hand, he went down to the boat and set off
for the cove. Mr. Seagrave and William worked hard; and, by twelve
o'clock, the hole was quite large and deep enough, according to the
directions Ready had given. They then left their work and went to the
tent.

"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 with
me, and I could not tell what they were; but they were large birds, as
big 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 before
dinner," said Mrs. Seagrave.

They did so; and William rolled up the empty water-cask which Ready had
brought 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 provisions
was 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, found
the great hole which they had dug not two hours before quite full of
water.

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

"Think a little, William," said Mr. Seagrave, "for the spring runs so
fast 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 it
will 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 it
floated 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 filled
in 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 lay
down a plan of operations; method is everything when work is to be
done: now tell me what you propose shall be our several occupations for
the next week, for to-morrow is Sunday; and although we have not yet
been able to honour the day as we should, I think that now we must and
ought to keep it holy."

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

"You must not consider that you have ladies with you now, Ready," said
Mrs. Seagrave, "at least, not fine ladies. My health and strength are
recovering fast, and I mean to be very useful. I propose to assist Juno
in all the domestic duties, such as the cookery and washing, to look
after and teach the children, mend all the clothes, and make all that
is 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 building
the house, are to dig up a piece of ground, and plant our potatoes and
seeds; and to make a turtle-pond, so as to catch the turtle and put
them in before the season is over."

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

"I should say the turtle-pond, as it will be only a few days' work for
you, Juno, and William. I shall not want your assistance for this next
week. I shall fix upon some spot, not far from here, where the trees
are thickest in the grove, and cut them down so as to clear out a space
in which we will, by and by, build our storerooms; and, as soon as the
rainy season has gone by, we can remove all our stores from the other
side of the island. It will occupy me the whole of the week, cutting
down the trees and sawing them into proper lengths, ready for building
the house, and then we must all join our strength and get it up without
delay."

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

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

"What for?"

"Don't you recollect, sir, your two-wheeled carriage, packed up in
matting, which was thrown on shore in the gale? You laughed when you
saw it, and said it would be of little use now; but the wheels and axle
will he very useful, as we can make a wide path to the place when I cut
down the trees, and wheel out the logs much more easily than we can
drag 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 Monday
morning, and be back before breakfast. To-day we will fix upon the
spots where our garden is to be, our turtle-pond to be made, and the
trees to be cut down. That shall be our business, Mr. Seagrave; and
William and Juno may put things a little more to rights here."

Mr. Seagrave and Ready then walked down to the beach, and, after
surveying 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 want
is a space of water surrounded by a low wall of stones, so that the
animals cannot escape, for they cannot climb up, although they can walk
on the shelving sand with their flippers. Now the reef here is high out
of the water, and the space within the reef and the beach is deep
enough, and the rocks on the beach nearly fill up that side and prevent
them crawling away by the shore. We have, therefore, little more to do
than to fill up the two other sides, and then our pond will be
complete."

"I see it will not be a long job either, if we can find loose rocks
enough," 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 to
carry, but they can be brought here by the aid of handspikes and
crowbars. Suppose we make a signal for William and Juno, and set them
to work."

Mr. Seagrave called and waved his hat, and Juno and William came down
to them. Juno was ordered to go back for two handspikes, while Ready
explained to William what was to be done. Having stayed with them and
assisted them for some time after Juno had returned with the
implements, Mr. Seagrave and Ready proceeded to the point, to fix upon
a 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, until
they arrived at the point which the latter had considered as a
convenient 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 great
length of enclosure would be required.

"You see, sir," said Ready, "we can wait till after the rainy season is
over 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 will
not come up until after the rains are finished; so all we have to do is
to dig up the ground, and put them in as fast as we can. We cannot make
a 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 shall
be able to clear away quite enough ground in a week to put in all that
we 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 have
not time. Tommy might be of some use here in taking away the shrubs as
you pull them up; but we had better now go on to the grove, and choose
the spot for cutting down the trees. I have made my mark."

Ready and Mr. Seagrave proceeded in the direction which the former had
pointed out, until they arrived at a spot on a rising ground, where the
trees 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 we
want for the houses out of this part of the grove, and to leave an open
square place, in the centre of which we will build our storerooms. You
see, sir, if necessary, with a very little trouble we might turn it
into a place of protection and defence, as a few palisades here and
there between the trees would make it, what they call in the East
Indies, 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, we
have plenty to do before we can think of that. Now, sir, as dinner is
ready, suppose we return, and after dinner we will both commence our
tasks."

Juno and William returned to the dinner which Mrs. Seagrave had
prepared. They were both very warm with their work, which was very
hard, but very eager to finish their task. After dinner was over, Mrs.
Seagrave requested her husband, as he was about to go down to the
point, with the spade and a small hatchet in his hand, to take Tommy
with him, as she had a great deal to do, and could not watch him as
well 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 he
cleared away the brushwood.

Mr. Seagrave worked very hard, and when he had cut down and cleared a
portion 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, he
then took his spade to dig at the roots and turn up the mould, leaving
Tommy to amuse himself. What Tommy did for about an hour, during which
Mr. Seagrave worked very diligently, his father did not observe; but
all of a sudden he began to cry; and when his father asked him the
reason, he did not answer, but only cried the more, until at last he
put his hands to his stomach, and roared most lustily. As he appeared
to be in very great pain, his father left off work, and led him up to
the tent, when Mrs. Seagrave came out, alarmed at his cries. Ready, who
had heard Tommy screaming for so long a while, thought that there might
be something serious, and left his work to ascertain the cause. When he
heard 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 the
berries were." And the old man hastened down to the place where Mr.
Seagrave had been at work. In the meantime Mrs. Seagrave was much
alarmed lest the child should have poisoned himself, and Mr. Seagrave
went to search among the medicines for some castor-oil.

Ready returned just as he came back to the tent with the bottle of
castor-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 think
you should give him any, for it appears to me that he has taken too
much already. This is, if I recollect right, the castor-oil plant, and
here are some of the castor-oil beans which Master Tommy has been
eating. 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 be
better: it will teach him not to eat berries or beans again."

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

Chapter XXVI

The next day, when Mr. Seagrave, William, Juno, and Ready were all at
work at their allotted tasks, Mrs. Seagrave was sitting down at the
front of the tent, the little baby, Albert, crawling close to her,
Caroline trying to work with her needle, and Tommy was making holes in
the 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 the
stones.

"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 thought
you would like, I am afraid you would eat it, and be as ill and even
worse than you were."

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

"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, but
they have no time now."

"I like turtle-soup," replied Tommy.

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

"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 and
bring your brother Albert back; he has crawled too near to Billy, and
he butts sometimes."

Tommy went after the baby, who was crawling towards the kid, which had
now grown pretty large, and as he took up his brother he kicked at the
goat'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 he
continued to kick at Billy. Billy, however, would not stand it; he
lowered his head, made a butt at Tommy, and he and Albert rolled on the
ground 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, looking
behind 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 he
would butt you," said Mrs. Seagrave, pacifying the child.

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

"No, you are very brave now that he has gone; but you're a very naughty
boy 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 very
fond of teasing animals, and so he gets punished and frightened. It is
very wrong of him to do so, especially as he is told by his father and
me 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 until
they 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 down
the bag. "I've brought you some young cocoa-nuts, and some old ones
also, 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 have
come 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 you
want from the other side of the island, for I shall go there directly
after dinner?"

"What for?"

"I must bring the wheels to get the timber out; for I must clear it
away as I go, until the path is finished. I must have William to help
me."

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

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

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

Chapter XXVII

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

As soon as the sun had disappeared, William and Ready went down to the
beach, and sat quietly on a rock. In a short time, Ready perceived a
turtle crawling on the sand, and, desiring William to follow him
without speaking, walked softly down by the water's edge, so as to get
between the animal and the sea.

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

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

Ready and William remained till past midnight, and turned sixteen
turtle.

"I think that will do, William, for once: we have made a good night's
work of it, for we have provided food for many days. Tomorrow we must
put 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, and
haul them along by that means; we can easily do that on the smooth
sand."

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

"They would not stay there long, William, nor could we easily get them
out if they did. I have often thought of getting some lines ready, and
yet 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 be
fisherman-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 for
an hour or so after the work is done; I know mamma is getting tired of
salt meat, and does not think it good for Caroline."

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

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

The next morning before breakfast all hands were employed in getting
the turtle into the pond. After breakfast, William and Juno finished
the pond where the walls had not been raised high enough; and, when
they returned to dinner, reported that their task was completed. Mr.
Seagrave also said that he had, he thought, cleared quite ground enough
for the present; and as Mrs. Seagrave wanted Juno to help her to wash
the 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 the
potatoes in pieces, so as to have an eye in each piece. When they had
finished this work, Mr. Seagrave said - "Now that we have finished
cutting the potatoes, let us go and assist Ready in planting them and
the 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 the
fishing-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 the
shells 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 the
point, where I got the boat through the reef - the water is deep there
close to the rocks."

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

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

William, however, had made up his mind to do otherwise: he knew that
his mother would be very glad to have some fish, and he determined, as
the moon shone bright, to try if he could not catch some before he went
to bed; so he waited very quietly till he thought Ready was asleep as
well as the others, and then went out with the lines, and went down to
the beach, where he picked up three or four shells, and, breaking them
between two pieces of rock, took out the fish and baited his hooks. He
then walked to the point. It was a beautiful night; the water was very
smooth, and the moonbeams pierced deep below the surface. William threw
in his line, and as soon as the lead touched the bottom he pulled it up
about a foot, as Ready had instructed him; and he had not held his line
more than half a minute, when it was jerked so forcibly, that not
expecting it he was nearly hauled into the water; as it was, the fish
was so strong that the line slipped through his hand and scored his
fingers; but after a time he was able to pull it in, and he landed on
the beach a large silver-scaled fish, weighing nine or ten pounds. As
soon as he had dragged it so far away from the edge of the rocks as to
prevent its flapping into the water again, William took out the hook
and determined to try for another. His line was down as short a time as
before, when it was again jerked with violence; but William was this
time prepared, and he let out the line and played the fish till it was
tired, and then pulled it up, and found that the second fish was even
larger than the first. Satisfied with his success, he wound up his
lines, 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 fear
of the dogs eating them; he then went in, and was soon fast asleep. The
next morning William was the first up, and showed his prizes with much
glee; but Ready was very much displeased with him.

"You did very wrong, William, to run the risk which you did. If you
were resolved to catch fish, why did you not tell me, and I would have
gone with you? You say, yourself, that the fish nearly hauled you into
the water; suppose it had done so, or suppose a small shark instead of
one of these gropers (as we call them) had taken the bait, you must
have been jerked in; and the rocks are so steep there, that you would
not 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 the
agony and despair of your poor mother, when this news should have
arrived."

"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 about
it; nobody will know that you have been in danger, and there's no harm
done; 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 no
idea 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 last
night? Look, here are two beautiful fish, and very excellent eating
they are, I can tell you."

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

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

After breakfast they all set out for the grove, where Ready had been
cutting down the trees, taking with them the wheels and axle, and a
couple of stout ropes. Mr. Seagrave and Ready cut down the trees and
slung them to the axle, and Juno and William dragged them to the spot
where 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 turned
eight more turtle. They continued felling the cocoa-nut trees and
dragging the timber for the remainder of the week, when they considered
that they had nearly enough, and on Tuesday morning they commenced
building the house.

Chapter XXIX

Ready had cut out and prepared the door-posts and window-frames from
timber which he had towed round from the cove. He now fixed four poles
in the earth upright at each corner, and then, with the assistance of
Mr. Seagrave, notched every log of cocoa-nut wood on both sides, where
it was to meet with the one crossing it, so that, by laying log upon
log alternately, they fitted pretty close, and had only to have the
chinks between them filled in with cocoa-nut leaves twisted very tight,
and forced between them: this was the work of William and Juno when no
more logs were ready for carrying; and, by degrees, the house rose up
from its foundation. The fireplace could not be made at once, as they
had either to find clay, or to burn shells into lime and build it up
with rocks and mortar; but a space was left for it. For three weeks
they worked very hard: as soon as the sides were up, they got on the
whole of the roof and rafters; and then, with the broad leaves of the
cocoa-nut trees which had been cut down, Ready thatched it very strong
and securely. At the end of the three weeks the house was secure from
the weather; and it was quite time, for the weather had begun to
change, the clouds now gathered thick, and the rainy season was
commencing.

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

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

It was late on the Saturday night that the family shifted into the new
house; and fortunate it was that they had no further occasion for
delay, for on the Sunday the first storm burst upon them; the wind blew
with great force; and, although they were shielded from it, still the
cocoa-nut trees ground and sawed each other's stems as they bent their
heads to its force. The lightning was vivid, and the thunder appalling,
while the rain descended in a continual torrent. The animals left the
pastures, 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 almost
every day, but still we shall have rain, perhaps, for many days without
intermission, and we must work indoors."

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

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

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

The morning service was then performed in the new house. Violent as the
rain was, it did not penetrate through the thatch which had been put
on. Ready and William went out to secure the boat, which they were
afraid would be injured, and returned wet to the skin. The storm
continued without intermission the whole of the night, but they slept
dry and safe; and, when awakened by the noise of the thunder and the
pelting of the rain, they thanked God that they had found a dwelling in
the wilderness upon which they had been cast.

Chapter XXX

When they all rose up the next morning, the clouds had cleared off, and
the sun was shining bright. Ready and Juno were the first out of the
house - Ready with the telescope under his arm, which he always took
with 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, and
make kittle boil for breakfast, I really don't know - stick and
cocoa-nut trash all so wet."

"Before I went to bed last night, Juno, I covered up the embers with
ashes, put some stones over them, and then some cocoa-nut branches, so
I think you will find some fire there yet. I was going my morning's
round, 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 the
well very clear this morning; indeed, I doubt if you will see the well
at all. Here's some stuff which is not very wet."

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

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

Ready whistled to the dogs, who came bounding out, and then set off on
his round of inspection. He first directed his steps to the well in the
ravine; 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 a
muddy torrent, rushing down the ravine, and the well was covered with
it, 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, as
he wished to examine the turtle-pond, which was on the other side of
the stream. Finding all right, he again crossed the water, where it was
now spread wide over the sandy beach, until he came to the other point
where 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 among
these islands; but, still, as it was possible, he took the trouble; but
never except when he went out in the morning alone, as he was aware
that the very circumstance of his so doing would make Mr. Seagrave
melancholy and unsettled. As usual, he dropped the telescope on his
arm, after his survey, saying to himself, "Little use doing that."

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

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

"Let me see." Ready took the halyards and sheets belonging to the
boat's sails, which be had left on the beach, and bent one on to the
other until he had sufficient length of rope. He then made a piece of
wood, 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 him
to 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's
walk is over. Now, Romulus, now, Remus, boys, find them out," continued
he; and the dogs, who appeared to know what he was in search of, went
away in pursuit, and soon found the sheep and two of the goats, but the
third goat was not with them.

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

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

"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 a
little shelter for them. This is only a beginning; I expect we shall
soon have more."

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

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

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

"I assure you I never should have known what can be done by order and
arrangement, if I had not been pressed on board of a man-of-war. I
found 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 boatswain
piped, and in a few seconds every sail was set or taken in as was
required. It seemed to me at first like magic. And you observe, Mr.
Seagrave, that when there is order and discipline, every man becomes of
individual importance. If I learnt nothing else on board of a
man-of-war, I learnt to make the most of time, and the most of the
strength 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, we
must work at present how we can, and when we can, until we have got
things into a little better order. We have done well up to the
present."

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

"Well, sir, our first job will be to haul up the boat and secure her
from harm; we will half-dock her in the sand, and cover her over, for I
do not think it will be safe to go in her now to the other side of the
island, 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 them
down, and as soon as they are dry, stow them away, for we may want them
by and by; then, sir, we must build a large outhouse for our stores and
provisions, with a thatched roof, and a floor raised about four feet
from the ground; and then, under the floor, the sheep and goats will
have a protection from the weather. Then there is the fish-pond to
make, and also a salt-pan to cut out of the rock. Then we have two more
long jobs. One is, to go through the woods and examine the stores we
have left on the other side of the island, sort and arrange them all
ready for bringing here after the rains are over; and we must also
explore the island a little, and find out what it produces; for at
present we know nothing of it: we may find a great many things useful
to us, a great many trees and fruits, and I hope and trust we may be
able to find some more grass for our live stock."

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

"We will not divide at present, sir, if you please. Juno has plenty to
do indoors with Mrs. Seagrave; William, and you, and I, will first
secure the boat and stow away the tents and gear; after that, we will
set about the outbuilding, and work at it when we can. If Juno has any
time to spare, she had better collect the cocoa-nut leaves, and pile
them up for fuel; and Tommy will, I dare say, go with her, and show her
how 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 spare
her to go with you. Come, sir, a few hours of weather like this is not
to be lost," continued Ready; "we shall have more rain before the day
is over, I expect. I will first go to the tent for the shovels; then I
will haul the boat round to the beach and meet you there. You and
William 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, there
were plenty of boughs lying in every direction, and William and Mr.
Seagrave had soon procured sufficient. In a very short time the boat
was drawn up about ten yards from the water's edge, which Ready said
was quite sufficient; they then dug from under with their shovels until
the boat was sunk about half down in the sand.

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

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

"No, sir, the rain won't do her any harm, but the sun will, when it
bursts out occasionally; for it's very powerful when it does shine, and
it 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 remain
with 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 once
piled up, it will soon be dry. Be careful, Mr. Seagrave, not to hold
the lines tight in your hands, or you may be jerked into the water."

Mr. Seagrave and William were very fortunate; before the two hours were
expired they had caught eight large fish, which they brought up to the
house slung on the boat-hook. Tommy hallooed loudly for fish for
dinner, and as they had caught so many, it was agreed that the dinner
should be put off until some could be got ready, and they were not
sorry to eat them instead of salt pork.

They had hardly sat down to table, when the rain came pattering down on
the roof, and in a quarter of an hour the storm was as violent, and the
thunder and lightning as terrific as on the day before. All outdoor
labour was again suspended. Mrs. Seagrave, Juno, and Caroline took
their work, for there was plenty to do with the needle and thread, and
Ready soon found employment for the rest. William and Mr. Seagrave
unlaid some thick rope, that Ready might make smaller and more useful
rope with the yarns. Ready took up his sailing needles, and worked
eyelet-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 the
bedsteads for a large bundle, and said, as he opened it, "I shall now
decorate Madam Seagrave's sleeping-place. It ought to be handsomer than
the others." The bundle was composed of the ship's ensign, which was
red, and a large, square, yellow flag with the name of the ship Pacific
in large black letters upon it. These two flags Ready festooned and
tied 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 he
had 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 once
half-promised me that you would tell me your history; I wish you would
tell 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 have
heard 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 all
events, 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 is
soon told. My father was the captain of a merchant vessel, which traded
from South Shields to Hamburg, and my poor mother, God bless her, was
the daughter of a half-pay militia captain, who died about two months
after their marriage. The property which the old gentleman had
bequeathed to my mother was added to that which my father had already
vested in the brig, and he then owned one-third of the vessel; the
other two-thirds were the property of a very rich ship-builder and
owner, of the name of Masterman. What with the profits of the share he
held 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 gained
much money by his exertions and good management, was present at the
marriage, and when I was born, about a year afterwards, he stood for me
as godfather. Every one considered that this was a most advantageous
circumstance for me, and congratulated my father and mother; for Mr.
Masterman was a bachelor, of nearly sixty years, without any near
relations. It is true, that he was very fond of money; but that, they
said, was all the better, as he could not take it away with him when he
died. An end, however, was soon put to all their worldly ideas, for a
year after I was born, my father was drowned at sea, his vessel and the
whole of her crew being lost on the Texel sands; and my mother found
herself a widow, with a child scarcely weaned, when she was but
twenty-two years of age.

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

"What is insurance?" inquired William.

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

"No need, Mr. Seagrave; we never should lose an opportunity of teaching
the young. Well, how far the assertion of Mr. Masterman was correct or
not, it was impossible at the time to say; but I do know that everybody
cried out `shame', and that if he did deprive the widow, he had much to
answer for; for the Bible says, `Pure religion is to visit the
fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and to keep yourself
unspotted in the world'. The consequence was, that my mother had little
or nothing to live upon; but she found friends who assisted her, and
she worked embroidery, and contrived to get on somehow until I was
eight or nine years of age."

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

"No, sir, strange to say, he did not; and that made people talk the
more. 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 have
injured."

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

"It was very strange, sir, - at least, so it appeared at the time, but
he was very fond of money, and irritated at the reports and
observations which were made about him. But, to go on, sir, I was a
strong, hardy boy, and, whenever I could escape from my mother or
school, 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 good
swimmer. My mother perceived my fondness for the profession, and tried
all she could to divert my thoughts some other way. She told me of the
dangers and hardships which sailors went through, and always ended with
my father's death and a flood of tears.

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

"I agree with you, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave. "If children really knew
how much their parents suffer when they behave ill, how alarmed they
are 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 very
windy day, and the water rough, a hawser, by which a vessel was fast to
the 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, and
knocked him into the sea. I heard the crying out, and the men from the
wharf and from the ships were throwing ropes to him, but he could not
catch hold of them; indeed, he could not swim well, and the water was
rough. I caught a rope that had been hauled in again, and leapt off the
wharf.

"Young as I was, I swam like a duck, and put the rope into his hands
just as he was going down. He clung to it as drowning men only can
cling, and was hauled to the piles, and soon afterwards a boat, which
had been lowered from the stern of one of the vessels, picked us both
up. We were taken to a public-house, and put into bed till dry clothes
could be sent for us; and then I found that the person I had saved was
my 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 young
a boy as I was. The sailors took me home to my mother in a sort of
triumphal procession; and she, poor thing, when she heard what I had
done, embraced me over and over again, one moment rejoicing at my
preservation, and the next weeping bitterly at the thoughts of the
danger I had encountered, and the probability that my bold spirit would
lead 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 for
evil; but she did not say so. The next day Mr. Masterman called upon
us; he certainly looked very foolish and confused when he asked for his
godson, whom he had so long neglected. My mother, who felt how useful
he might be to me, received him very kindly; but I had been often told
of his neglect of me and my mother, and of his supposed unfair conduct
towards my father, and had taken a violent dislike to him; his advances
towards me were therefore very coolly received. I felt glad that I had
saved him; but although I could not exactly understand my own feelings
at the time, I am ashamed to say that my pleasure was not derived from
having done a good action, so much as indulging a feeling of revenge in
having put one under an obligation who had treated me ill; this arose
from 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 I
had done it, I indulged those feelings which I ought to have checked."

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

"The impulse which induced me to act was good," replied Ready; "but the
feeling which I indulged in afterwards took away the whole merit of the
deed. I am stating what I believe to be the truth; and an old man like
me 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 now
take care of me and bring me up to the business of a ship-builder as
soon as I was old enough to leave school, and that in the meantime he
would pay all my expenses. My poor mother was very grateful, and shed
tears of joy; and when Mr. Masterman went away, she embraced me, and
said that now she was happy, as I should have a profession on shore and
not go to sea. I must do justice to Mr. Masterman; he kept his word and
sent money to my mother, so that she became quite cheerful and
comfortable, and everyone congratulated her, and she used to fondle me,
and say, it was all through me that she was relieved from her
distress."

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

"Yes, it did, but it made me also very proud. Strange to say, I could
not conquer my dislike to Mr. Masterman; I had nourished the feeling
too long. I could not bear that my mother should be under obligations
to him, or that he should pay for my schooling; it hurt my foolish
pride, young as I then was; and although my mother was happy, I was
not. Besides, as I was put to a better school, and was obliged to
remain with the other boys, I could no longer run about the wharfs, or
go 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 could
no longer have my own way. The master complained of me; and Mr.
Masterman called and scolded me well. I became more disobedient, and
then I was punished. This irritated me, and I made up my mind that I
would run away to sea. You see, William, I was all in the wrong; and so
will all boys be who think they know better than those who have charge
of them; and now only see what I probably lost by my foolish conduct. I
say probably, for no one can calculate or foresee what is to
take place; but, as far as appearances went, I had every prospect of
receiving a good education - of succeeding Mr. Masterman in his
business, and, very probably, of inheriting his large fortune; so that
I might have been at this time a rich and well-educated man, surrounded
with all the comforts and luxuries of life; perhaps with an amiable
wife and large family round me, to make me still happier, instead of
being what I now am, a poor, worn-out old seaman upon a desert isle. I
point this out to you, William, to show how one false and foolish step
in the young may affect their whole prospects in life; and, instead of
enabling them to sail down with the stream of prosperity, may leave
them to struggle against the current of adversity, as has been the case
with 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 errors
that led to it. An all-wise and gracious God disposes of us as he
thinks best; and I can now say with perfect sincerity, `Thy will, not
mine, be done'."

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

"Well, madam, it is some comfort to think that a worn-out old seaman
like 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 Ready
turned out Nanny and her progeny. They had an excellent breakfast of
fried fish, and then Mr. Seagrave, Ready, and William went out to their
work: the two first took down the tents, and spread the canvas on the
ground, that it might be well dried, while William went in pursuit of
the fowls, which had not been seen for a day or two. After
half-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 him
home to the house, where he left them and went to join Ready and his
father.

"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 a
fowl-house; it won't be more than a day's job, and then the creatures
will have a home. There are four very thick cocoa-nut trees close to
the house; we will build it under them; it will be a good job over."
Mr. Seagrave assented, and they set immediately to work. There were
many thin poles left, the tops of the cocoa-nut trees which had been
cut down to build the house; these they nailed to the trunks of the
four trees, so as to make a square, and then they ran up rafters for a
pitched roof.

"Now, sir, this is only rough work; we will first put up a perch or two
for them, and then close in the side, and thatch the roof with
cocoa-nut branches; but there's Juno taking in the dinner, so we'll
finish it afterwards."

After their meal the work was renewed; Mr. Seagrave collected the
branches while William and Ready worked upon the sides and roof, and
before the evening closed in, the fowl-house was complete. William
enticed the fowls down to it with some more split peas, and then walked
away.

"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 of
the tents; we have had a splendid day, and may not be so fortunate
to-morrow."

"Very true; we will get them housed, and stow them away under the
bed-places; there is plenty of room." By the time that they had folded
up the canvas, and William had brought in Nanny and the kids, the sun
had set, and they went into the house. Ready was requested to go on
with his history, which he did as follows:--

"I said last night that I determined to run away from school and go to
sea, but I did not tell you how I managed it. I had no chance of
getting out of the school unperceived, except after the boys were all
put to bed. The room that I slept in was at the top of the house - the
doors I knew were all locked; but there was a trap-door which led out
on 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 as
all the other boys were fast asleep, I arose and dressed myself very
quietly, and then left the room.

"The moon shone bright, which was lucky for me, and I gained the
trap-door without any noise. I had some difficulty in forcing it up, as
it was heavy for a boy of my age; but I contrived to do so at last, and
gained the roof of the house. I then began looking about me, to see how
I 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 far
detached from the bricks, that I could get my small fingers round it. I
climbed over the parapet, and, clinging to the pipe firmly with my
hands 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, which
was below, I hastened to the iron gates at the entrance, and soon
climbed up and got to the other side into the road. I started as fast
as I could towards the port, and when I arrived at the wharf, I
perceived that a vessel had her topsails loose, and meant to take
advantage of the ebb-tide which had just made; the men were singing `Yo
heave yo', getting the anchor up; and as I stood watching, almost
making up my mind that I would swim off to her, I perceived that a man
pushed off in her jolly-boat, and was sculling to a post a little
higher up, where a hawser had been made fast; I ran round, and arrived
there before he had cast off the rope; without saying a word, I jumped
into the boat.

"`What do you want, youngster?' said the seaman.

"`I want to go to sea,' said I, breathless; `take me on board - pray
do.'

"`Well,' said he, `I heard the captain say he wanted an apprentice, and
so you may come.'

"He sculled the boat back again to the vessel, and I climbed up her
side.

"`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, and
went out at the topgallant yard-arm.

"When I came down, the captain said, `Well, I think you'll make a sharp
seaman 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 the
day had dawned I found myself on the wide ocean, which was hereafter to
be my home.

"As soon as the hurry and confusion were over, I was examined by the
captain, 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 had
taken, 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, for
the first time rushed into my mind, and I wept bitterly; but it was too
late then. I have often thought, Mr. Seagrave, that the life of
hardship which I have since gone through has been a judgment on me for
my cruelty to my mother, in leaving her the way I did. It broke her
heart; a poor return, William, for all her care and kindness! God
forgive me!"

Old Ready left off for some little time, and the remainder of the party
kept silence. Then he said - "I'll leave off now, if you please: I
don't feel inclined to go on; my heart is full when I recall that
foolish and wicked deed of mine."

Chapter XXXIII

The next morning was fine, and as soon as breakfast was over, they took
the wheels down to the turtle-pond, and Ready having speared one of the
largest by means of a pike with a barb to it, which he had made on
purpose, they hauled it on shore, slung it under the wheels, and took
it up to the house. Having killed the turtle, and cut it up, Juno,
under the directions of Ready, chose such portions as were required for
the soup; and when the pot was on the fire, Ready, Mr. Seagrave, and
William set off with the cross-cut saw and hatchets, to commence
felling the cocoa-nut trees for the building of the outhouse, which was
to hold their stores, as soon as they could be brought round from the
other 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 the
wood, as it is not very far from the house, and by cutting the path to
it in a zigzag, it will be quite hidden from sight; and we must make
the path just wide enough to allow the wheels to pass, and stump up the
roots of the trees which we are obliged to cut down, otherwise the
stumps would attract attention."

"I agree with you, Ready," replied Mr. Seagrave; "there is no saying
what may happen."

"You see, sir, it is often the custom for the natives, in this part of
the world, to come in their canoes from one island to another, merely
to get cocoa-nuts. I can't say that the other islands near us are
inhabited, but still it is probable, and we cannot tell what the
character of the people may be. I tell you this, but we had better not
say 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 this
hill, where the trees are so very thick, the fall in the ground will
assist in the concealment of the building. I should say we are very
near 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 road
will, 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, and
those which are to be cut down, so as to leave about four feet of stump
standing."

As soon as they had planned the building, the axes and saw were in full
use, and tree after tree fell one upon the other. They worked hard till
dinner-time, and were not sorry at the prospect of sitting down to a
rich 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, "and
hard work will never hurt any one, especially when he dines off
turtle-soup. Why, Tommy, what's the matter with you?"

"Tommy and I are at variance," replied Mrs. Seagrave. "I had my thimble
this morning, and had commenced my sewing, when I was called out by
Juno, and Caroline went with me, and Tommy was left in the house. When
I came back I found him outside, and on going back to my work, there
was no thimble to be found; I asked him if he had touched it, and his
answer was that he would look for it. He did look, and said he could
not find it; I have asked him several times if he took it away, and his
only 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 its
appearance," replied Mr. Seagrave.

Master Tommy began to cry at this intelligence. Juno appeared with the
turtle-soup; and Tommy cried louder when they had said grace and
commenced their dinner. They were all very hungry, and William sent his
plate for another portion, which he had not commenced long before he
put 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 the
soup after dinner. Well, Mrs. Seagrave, I don't mean to say that Tommy
is a good boy, but still, although be would not tell where the thimble
was, he has not told a falsehood about it."

"No, he has not," replied William. "I think, now that the thimble is
found, if he begs pardon, papa will forgive him."

"Tommy, come here," said Mr. Seagrave. "Tell me why you put that
thimble into the soup?"

"I wanted to taste the soup. I wanted to fill the thimble; the soup
burnt my fingers, and I let the thimble drop in."

"Well, a thimbleful wasn't much, at all events," observed Ready. "And
why didn't you tell your mamma where the thimble was?"

"I was afraid mamma throw all the soup away, and then I get none for
dinner."

"Oh! that was it, was it? Well, sir, I said you should have no dinner
till the thimble was found, so, as it is found, you may have your
dinner; but if you ever refuse to answer a question again, I shall
punish you more severely."

Tommy was glad the lecture was over, and more glad to get his
turtle-soup; he finished one plate, and, as he asked for another, he
said, "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 again
till sunset.

"The clouds are gathering fast, sir," observed Ready; "we shall have
rain 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 you
will go on with your history."

"Certainly, ma'am, if you wish it," replied Ready. "When I left off, I
was 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, and
then I recovered, and, as you may suppose, was astonished at the busy
scene, and the quantity of vessels which were going up and down the
river. But I did not like my captain; he was very severe and brutal to
the men; and the apprentice who was on board told me to run away, and
get into another vessel, and not to bind myself apprentice to this
captain, or I should be beat all day long, and be treated as bad as he
was. I knew this was the case, as the captain kicked and cuffed him
twenty times a day. The men said that he did not do so to me, for fear
I should refuse to be his apprentice; but that, as soon as my
indentures 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 about
me. There was a large ship, which was ready to sail, lying in the
stream; I spoke to two boys who were at the stairs in her boat, and
they told me that they were very comfortable on board, and that the
captain wanted two or three apprentices. I went on board with them, and
offered myself. The captain asked me a great many questions, and I told
him the truth, and why I did not like to remain in the collier. He
agreed to take me; and I went on shore with him, signed my indentures,
and received from him a sufficient supply of clothes; and, two days
afterwards, 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 few
lines at the bottom to comfort her; but, unfortunately, the letter,
which was sent on shore by the cook, never arrived. Whether he dropped
it, or forgot it till after the ship sailed, and then tore it up, I do
not know; but, as I found out afterwards, it never did get to her
hands."

"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 committed
before."

"Don't dwell any more upon that portion of your history, Ready; but
tell 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 my
age, and soon became a great favourite on board, especially with the
lady passengers, because I was such a little fellow. We arrived safely
at Bombay, where our passengers went on shore, and in three weeks
afterwards we sailed down the straits for China. It was war time, and
we were very often chased by French privateers; but as we had a good
crew and plenty of guns, none of them ventured to attack us, and we got
safe to Macao, where we unloaded our cargo and took in teas. We had to
wait some time for a convoy, and then sailed for England. When we were
off the Isle of France, the convoy was dispersed in a gale; and three
days afterwards, a French frigate bore down upon us, and after
exchanging a few broadsides, we were compelled to haul down our
colours. A lieutenant was sent on board with forty men to take charge
of us, for we were a very rich prize to them. The captain and most of
the crew were taken on board of the frigate, but ten Lascars and the
boys were left in the Indiaman, to assist in taking her into the Isle
of France, which was at that time in the hands of the French. I thought
it hard that I was to go to prison at twelve years old; but I did not
care much about it, and very soon I was as gay and merry as ever. We
had made the island, and were on a wind beating up to the port, when a
vessel was seen to windward, and although I could not understand what
the Frenchmen said, I perceived that they were in a great fluster and
very 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 think
we'll go to prison after all, Ready, for that vessel is an English
man-of-war, if I'm not mistaken.' At last she came down within three
miles of us, and hoisted English colours and fired a gun. The Frenchmen
put the ship before the wind, but it was of no use; the man-of-war came
up with us very fast, and then the Frenchmen began to pack up their
clothes, together with all the other things which they had collected
out of the property of our captain and crew; a shot was fired which
went clean over our heads, and then they left the helm, and Jack Romer
went to it, and, with my help, hove the ship up in the wind; a boat
came on board and took possession, and so there was one escape, at all
events.

"They sent a midshipman as prize-master on board of the vessel, and
left 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 with
any more men of his own than was necessary. We soon made sail for
England, quite delighted at having escaped a French prison, but, after
all, 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 we
did not find any friend in need, and were taken into Table Bay; for at
that 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 a
light heart."

Chapter XXXIV

A heavy storm came on soon after they had retired to rest; the
lightning was so vivid that its flashes penetrated through the chinks
of the door and windows, and the thunder burst upon them with a noise
which prevented them obtaining any sleep. The children cried and
trembled as they lay in the arms of Mrs. Seagrave and Juno, who were
almost as much alarmed themselves.

"This is very awful," said Mr. Seagrave to Ready, for they had both
risen 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 of
thunder burst over the house, which shook everything in it; a
sulphurous smell pervaded the building, and soon afterwards, when they
recovered their feet, they perceived that the house was full of smoke,
and they heard the wailing of the women and the shrieks of the children
in the bed-places on the other side.

"God have mercy on us!" exclaimed Ready, who was the first to recover
himself, and who now attempted to ascertain the injury which had been
done: "the lightning has struck us, and I fear that the house is on
fire somewhere."

"My wife - my children!" exclaimed Mr. Seagrave; "are they all safe?"

"Yes, yes!" cried Mrs. Seagrave, "all safe; Tommy has come to me; but
where is Juno? Juno!"

Juno answered not. William darted to the other side of the house, and
found 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, who
had lifted up the poor girl; "she may be only stunned."

They carried Juno out of the house, and laid her on the ground; the
rain poured down in torrents.

Ready left them for a minute, to ascertain if the house was on fire; he
found that it had been in flames at the further corner, but the rain
had extinguished it. He then went back to Mr. Seagrave and William, who
were with Juno.

"I will attend to the girl, sir," said Ready; "go you and Master
William into the house; Mrs. Seagrave will be too much frightened if
she 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 fast
asleep again in his father's arms. The storm now abated, and as the day
began to break, Ready appeared with Juno, who was sufficiently
recovered to he able to walk in with his support; she was put into her
bed, and then Ready and Mr. Seagrave went to examine if further
mischief had been done. The lightning had come in at the further end of
the house, at the part where the fireplace was intended to have been
made.

"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 a
lightning-conductor up the first thing."

It was now broad daylight. Mrs. Seagrave dressed herself and the
children, and as soon as she was ready, Mr. Seagrave read such portions
of the Psalms as were appropriate, and they earnestly joined in a
prayer of thankfulness and humility. William went out to prepare the
breakfast, and Ready procured the coil of copper wire from those stores
which were stowed under the bed-places. This he unrolled, and stretched
it out straight, and then went for the ladder, which was at the
outhouse they had commenced building. As soon as breakfast was over,
Ready and Mr. Seagrave went out again to fix up the
lightning-conductor, leaving William to do the work of Juno, who still
remained fast asleep in her bed.

"I think," said Ready, "that one of those two trees which are close
together will suit the best; they are not too near the house, and yet
quite 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 the
hammer and a bag of large spike-nails, drove one of the nails into the
trunk of the tree till it was deep enough in to bear his weight; he
then drove in another above it, and so he continued to do, standing
upon one of them while he drove in another above, till he had reached
the 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 in
about ten minutes he had cut off the head of the cocoa-nut tree, which
remained 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 I
have 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 a
thick piece of pointed wire at the top of it, on the head of the
cocoa-nut tree. He then went up, lashed the small pole to the head of
the tree, made the end of the copper wire fast to the pointed wire, and
then he descended. The other tree near to it was then cut down, and the
lower end of the wire buried in the ground at the bottom of the tree on
which the lightning-conductor had been fixed.

"That's a good job done, sir," said Ready, wiping his face, for he was
warm with the work.

"Yes," replied Mr. Seagrave; "and we must put up another near the
outhouse, 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 the
point instead of the house, run down the wire, and only tear up the
ground 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 the
stock are."

Juno was now up again, and said that she was quite well, with the
exception of a headache. As Ready had predicted, the rain now came on
again with great violence, and it was impossible to do any work out of
doors. 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 the
Government Gardens. We were not very carefully watched, as it appeared
impossible for us to get away, and I must say we were well treated in
every respect; but we were told that we should be sent to Holland in
the first man-of-war which came into the bay, and we did not much like
the idea.

"There were, as I told you, some other boys as well as myself, who
belonged to the Indiaman, and we kept very much together, not only
because we were more of an age, but because we had been shipmates so
long. 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 winter
time, Romer said, `How very easy it would be for us to get away, if we
only knew where to go to!'

"`Yes,' replied Hastings; `but where are we to go to, if it is not to
the 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 living
free among savages, than be shut up in a prison.' That was our first
talk on the subject, but we had many others afterwards; and as the one
or two Dutch soldiers who stood sentry spoke English, and we could talk
a little Dutch, we obtained a good deal of information from them; for
they had very often been sent to the frontiers of the colony. We
continued to ask questions, and to talk among ourselves for about two
months, and at last we resolved that we would make our escape. We
should have done much better if we had remained where we were; but
there is no putting old heads upon young shoulders. We saved up our
provisions, bought some long Dutch knives, tied our few clothes up in
bundles, and one dark night we contrived to remain in the yard without
being perceived, when the prisoners were locked up; and raising a long
pole, which lay in the yard, to the top of the wall, with a good deal
of scrambling we contrived to get over it, and made off as fast as we
could for the Table Mountain."

"What was your reason for going there, Ready?"

"Why, Hastings, who was the oldest, and, I will say, the sharpest of
the three, said that we had better stay up there for a few days, till
we had made up our minds what to do, and try if we could not procure a
musket or two, and ammunition; for, you see, we had money, as, when the
Indiaman was first taken, the captain divided a keg of rupees, which
was on board, among the officers and men, in proportion to the wages
due to them, thinking it was better for the crew to have the money than
to leave it for the Frenchmen; and we had spent very little while in
prison. There was also another reason why he persuaded us to go to the
Table Mountain, which was, that as soon as our escape was found out,
they would send parties to look for us; thinking, of course, that we
had made for the interior; and we should have less chance of being
retaken if we travelled after the first search was over. The soldiers
had told us of the lions, and other wild animals, and how dangerous it
was to travel, and Hastings said, that not finding us, they would
suppose we had been destroyed by the wild beasts, and would not look
for us any more."

"Foolish indeed," observed Mrs. Seagrave, "to set off you knew not
where, in a country full of wild beasts and savages."

"True enough, madam," replied Ready. "We ran at first until we were out
of breath, and then we walked on as fast as we could - not going right
up the mountain, but keeping a slanting direction to the south-west, so
as to get away from the town, and more towards False Bay.

"We had walked about four hours, and began to feel very tired, when the
day 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 to
hold half-a-dozen of such lads as we were, and we crawled in. It was
quite dry, and, as we were very tired, we lay down with our heads on
our bundles, intending to take a nap; but we had hardly made ourselves
comfortable and shut our eyes, when we heard such a screaming and
barking that we were frightened out of our lives almost. We could not
think what it could be. At last Hastings peeped out, and began to
laugh; so Homer and I looked out also, and there we saw about one
hundred and fifty large baboons leaping and tumbling about in such a
way as I never saw; they were bigger than we were - indeed, when they
stood on their hind legs they were much taller, and they had very large
white 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 such
antics, that we all burst out into a loud laugh, and we had not ceased
when we found the grinning face of one of the largest of those brutes
close to our own. He had dropped from the rock above us, like magic. We
all three backed into the cave, very much frightened, for the teeth of
the animal were enormous, and he looked very savage. He gave a shrill
cry, and we perceived all the rest of the herd coming to him as fast as
they 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 the
entrance was much smaller. Homer cried out, `Let us go into the inside
cave - we can get in one by one;' and he backed in; Hastings followed
with his bundle, and I hurried in after him just in time; for the
baboons, who had been chattering to each other for half a minute, came
into the outer cave just as I crawled into the inner. Five or six of
them came in, all males, and very large. The first thing they did was
to lay hold of Homer's bundle, which they soon opened - at once they
seized his provisions and rammed them into their pouches, and then they
pulled out the other things and tore them all to pieces. As soon as
they had done with the bundle, two of them came towards the inner cave
and saw us. One put his long paw in to seize us; but Hastings gave him
a slash with his knife, and the animal took his paw out again fast
enough. 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 a
chattering I never heard - they were evidently very angry, and more
came into the cave and joined them; then another put in his hand, and
received a cut just as before. At last, two or three at once tried to
pull us out, but we beat them all off with our knives, wounding them
all very severely. For about an hour they continued their attempts, and
then they went away out of the cave, but remained at the mouth
shrieking and howling. We began to be very tired of this work, and
Homer said that he wished he was back in prison again; and so did I, I
can assure you; but there was no getting out, for had we gone out the
animals would have torn us to pieces. We agreed that we had no chance
but the animals becoming tired and going away; and most anxious we
were, for the excitement had made us very thirsty, and we wanted water.
We remained for two hours in this way imprisoned by baboons, when all
of a sudden a shrill cry was given by one of the animals, and the whole
herd went galloping off as fast as they could, screaming louder than
ever. We waited for a short time to see if they would return, and then
Hastings crawled out first, and looking out of the cave very
cautiously, said that they were all gone, and that he could see nothing
but a Hottentot sitting down watching some cattle; we therefore all
came out, very happy at our release. That was our first adventure; we
had 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's
no 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 is
bed-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 storm
of which we have made mention. For a fortnight, with little
intermission, 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 their
work was over, that even William did not ask Ready to go on with his
history. At last the storehouse was complete, thatched and wattled in
on three sides, leaving one open for ventilation; the lower part, which
had been arranged for the folding of the stock at night and during the
rainy season, was also wattled in with cocoa-nut boughs on three sides,
and made a very comfortable retreat for the animals. The winding path
to the storehouse was also cut through the cocoa-nut grove, but the
stumps were not removed, as they could not spare the time. All the
stores that they had brought round were put into the storehouse, and
they were now ready to take up some other job. It was, however, agreed
that, on the day after the building was finished, they should all have
a day's holiday, which they certainly did require. William caught some
fish, a turtle was speared and wheeled up to the house; and they not
only had a holiday, but a feast. Mr. Seagrave and William had been
walking on the beach with Mrs. Seagrave and the children, while Ready
was assisting Juno in cutting up the turtle; they had shown Mrs.
Seagrave the storehouse, and the goats with the four kids had been led
there, as there was no longer any occasion for them to remain in the
house. The weather was beautiful, and they agreed to go and examine the
garden. 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 than
they will have till the rainy season is nearly over; a few days like
this, 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 in
a desert island. I thought I should feel the loss of books very
severely, but I really do not think that I could have found time to
read."

"Employment is a source of happiness, especially when you are usefully
employed. An industrious person is always a happy person, provided he
is not obliged to work too hard; and even where you have cause for
unhappiness, 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 our
books a great source of enjoyment. I am anxious to go to the other side
of the island, and see what have been spared to us, and whether they
have been much damaged; but that cannot be until after the rains are
over, 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 with
its little legs; thinner than hairs - how wonderful!"

"Yes, William," replied Mr. Seagrave, "we have only to examine into any
portion, however small, of creation, and we are immediately filled with
wonder. There is nothing which points out to us the immensity and the
omniscience of the Almighty more than the careful provision which has
been made by Him for the smallest and most insignificant of created
beings. This little animal is perhaps one of many millions, who have
their term of existence, and their enjoyment, as well as we have. What
is it? - an insect of the minutest kind, a nothing in creation; yet has
the same care been bestowed upon its formation: these little legs,
hardly visible, have their muscles and their sinews; and every other
portion of its body is as complete, as fearfully and wonderfully
fashioned, as our own. Such is his will; and what insects we ought to
feel ourselves, when compared to the God of power and of love!"

"Let me also point out to you, William," continued Mr. Seagrave, "the
infinity of his creative power, displayed in endless variety. Amongst
the millions of men that have been born, and died, if ever yet were
there seen two faces or two bodies exactly alike; nay, if you could
examine the leaves upon the trees, although there may be millions upon
millions in a forest, you could not discover two leaves of precisely
the same form and make."

"I have often tried in vain," replied William; "yet some animals are so
much alike, that I cannot perceive any difference between them - sheep,
for instance."

"Very true; you cannot tell the difference, because you have not
examined them; but a shepherd, if he has seven hundred sheep under his
care, will know every one of them from the others; which proves that
there must be a great difference between them, although not perceptible
to the casual observer; and the same, no doubt, is the case with all
other classes of animals."

"Yes, William," observed Ready; "I have often wondered over the things
that I have seen, and I have even in my ignorance felt what your papa
has 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 have
referred to the variety - the wonderful variety - shown in the works of
the 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 most
observable."

"Everywhere and in everything, my dear boy; whether we cast our eyes up
to the heavens above us, or penetrate into the bowels of the earth, the
principle of order is everywhere - everything is governed by fixed
laws, which cannot be disobeyed: we have order in the seasons, in the
tides, in the movement of the heavenly bodies, in the instinct of
animals, in the duration of life assigned to each; from the elephant
who lives more than a century, to the ephemeral fly, whose whole
existence is limited to an hour.

"Inanimate nature is subject to the same unvarying laws. Metals, and
rocks, and earths, and all the mineral kingdom follow one law in their
crystallization, never varying from the form assigned to them; each
atom depositing itself in the allotted place, until that form is
complete: we have order in production, order in decay; but all is
simple to him by whom the planets were thrown out into space, and were
commanded to roll in their eternal orbits."

"Yes; the stars in the heavens are beautiful," said William, "but they
are not placed there in order."

"The fixed stars do not appear to us to be in order - that is, they do
not stud the heavens at equal distances from each other as we view
them; but you must recollect that they are at very different distances
from this earth, spreading over all infinity of space; and we have
reason to suppose that this our earth is but a mere unit in the
multitude of created worlds, only one single portion of an infinite
whole. As the stars now appear to us, they are useful to the mariner,
enabling him to cross the trackless seas; and to the astronomer, who
calculates the times and seasons."

"What do you mean, papa, by saying that this world of ours is supposed
to be but one of a multitude of created worlds?"

"Our little knowledge is bounded to this our own earth, which we have
ascertained very satisfactorily to be but one of several planets
revolving round our own sun. I say our own sun, because we have every
reason to suppose that each of those fixed stars, and myriads now not
visible to the naked eye, are all suns, bright and glorious as our own,
and of course throwing light and heat upon unseen planets revolving
round them. Does not this give you some idea of the vastness, the
power, 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, who
have felt in their hearts the magnificence of the Great Architect, that
there must be some point of view in space where all those glorious
suns, which seem to us confused in the heavens above us, will appear
all symmetrically arranged, will there be viewed in regular order,
whirling round in one stupendous and perfect system of beauty and
design; and where can that be, if it is not in that heaven which we
hope to gain?"

There was a silence for a few moments, when William said, "They say
that there are people who are atheists, papa. How can they be so if
they only look around them? I am sure a mere examination of the works
of God ought to make them good Christians."

"No, my child," replied Mr. Seagrave; "there you are in error. Few deny
the existence of a Deity, and an examination of his works may make them
good and devout men, but not Christians. There are good men to be found
under 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 induce
men to acknowledge the power and goodness of the Almighty, but it will
not make them wise to salvation; for that end, it is necessary, as the
Apostle saith, to have faith in things not seen."

Chapter XXXVI

"Well, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave, after breakfast, "which is to be our
next job?"

"Why, sir, I think we had better all set to, to collect the branches
and 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, by
to-night, we shall have made the stack, and so arranged it that the
rain will not get into it much. After that, as the weather will not
permit us to leave the house for any time, we will cut our salt-pan and
make our fish-pond; they will take a week at least, and then we shall
have little more to do near home. I think the strength of the rains is
over already, and perhaps in a fortnight we may venture to walk through
the wood, and examine what we have saved from the wreck."

"And we are to explore the island; are we not, Ready?" said William. "I
long to do that."

"Yes, William, but that must be almost the last job; for we shall be
away for two or three nights, perhaps, and we must look out for fine
weather. We will, however, do that before we bring the stores round in
the boat."

"But how are we to make the salt-pan, Ready? We must cut it out of the
solid 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 you
think; for the coral rock, although hard at the surface, is soft a
little below it."

The whole of that day was employed in piling up the cocoa-nut branches
and 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 off
it.

"There," said Ready, as he came down the ladder, "that will be our
provision for next year; we have quite enough left to go on with till
the rainy season is over, and we shall have no difficulty in collecting
it 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 for
the next rainy season, in case we do want it. That Captain Osborn, if
he lives, will send to look for us, I have no doubt; nay, I believe
that Mackintosh will do the same; but still you must not forget that
they all may have perished, although we have been so mercifully
preserved. We must put our trust in God, sir."

"We must, Ready; and if it is his will, we must not murmur. I have
schooled myself as much as possible; but thoughts will come in spite of
my endeavours to restrain them."

"Of course they will, sir; that's natural: however, sir, you must hope
for the best; fretting is no good, and it is sinful."

"I feel it is, Ready; and when I see how patient, and even happy, my
wife 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 good
health, she will make herself happy almost anywhere: but men are
different: they cannot bear being shut out of the world as you are
now."

"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 as
he thinks fit."

After supper, Ready, being requested by William, continued his
narrative.

"I left off, if I recollect right, William, just as the Hottentot, with
the cattle under his care, had frightened away the baboons who were
tormenting us. Well, we came out of the cave and sat down under the
rock, so that the Hottentot could not see us, and we had a sort of
council 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 to
defend ourselves against wild beasts, and that we might fall in with
something worse than the baboons very soon; and he was right. It would
have 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 being
laughed 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 is
wrong; or if you have done wrong, prevent you from returning to what is
your duty."

"Many thanks for your advice, Ready; I hope William will not forget
it," said Mr. Seagrave.

"Well, sir, such was our reason for not giving up our mad scheme; and
having so decided, the next point of consultation between us was, how
we 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 see
where the Hottentot might be; I perceived that he had laid himself
down, and wrapped himself up in his kross, a mantle of sheep-skins
which they always wear. Now we had observed that he carried his musket
in his hand, when we first saw him, as the Hottentots always go out
armed, and I pointed out to Hastings and Romer that if he was asleep,
we might get possession of his musket without his perceiving it. This
was a good idea, and Hastings said he would crawl to him on his hands
and knees, while we remained behind the rock. He did so very
cautiously, and found the man's head covered up in his kross and fast
asleep; so there was no fear, for the Hottentots are very hard to wake
at any time; that we knew well. Hastings first took the musket and
carried it away out of the reach of the Hottentot, and then he returned
to him, cut the leather thong which slung his powder-horn and
ammunition, and retreated with all of them without disturbing the man
from his sleep. We were quite overjoyed at this piece of good luck, and
determined to walk very cautiously some distance from where the
Hottentot lay, that in case he awoke he should not see us. Keeping our
eyes about in every direction, lest we should meet with anybody else,
we proceeded nearly a mile towards Table Bay, when we fell in with a
stream of water. This was another happy discovery, for we were very
thirsty; so we concealed ourselves near the stream after we had
quenched our thirst, and made a dinner off the provisions we had
brought 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 just
as 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 stolen
our ship. Am I not right, Mr. Seagrave?"

"I believe you are justified in what may seem extreme acts for the
recovery of your liberty, after you have been made prisoners. It has
always been so considered."

"Well, sir, to go on: we waited till dusk, and then we continued our
march towards False Bay as fast as we could. We knew that there were
farmers down in the valley, or rather on the sides of the hills, and we
hoped to obtain, by some means or other, two more muskets. It was near
twelve o'clock at night, with a bright moon, when we had a sight of the
water in False Bay, and soon afterwards we heard the baying of a large
dog, and not far from us we distinguished two or three farmhouses, with
their cattle-folds and orchards. We then looked for a hiding-place,
where we might remain till the morning; we found one between some large
pieces of rock. We agreed that one should watch while the other two
slept; 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 the
place 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 the
other two, which were more distant. We watched the people as they went
about. In about an hour the Hottentots came out, and we perceived that
they were yoking the oxen to the waggon; they yoked twelve pair, and
then the Hottentot driver got in and drove off towards Cape Town. Soon
after that, another Hottentot drove the cows up the valley to feed; and
then a Dutch woman came out of the house with two children, and fed the
poultry.

"We watched for another hour, and then the farmer himself made his
appearance, with a pipe in his mouth, and sat down on a bench. When his
pipe was out, he called to the house, and a Hottentot woman came to him
with more tobacco and a light. During the whole of the day we did not
see any other people about the house, so we concluded that there were
no more than the farmer, his wife, the Hottentot woman, and two
children. About two hours after noon the farmer went to the stable and
led out his horse, mounted, mid rode away; we saw him speak to the
Hottentot woman when he rode off, and she soon after went down the
valley with a basket on her head, and a long knife in her hand. Then
Hastings said it was time that we moved, for there was but one woman in
the 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 we
should have to escape in the day-time, and might be seen and taken
prisoners again. However, as it was our only chance, we resolved to go
down to the farmhouse very cautiously, and be all ready to seize any
opportunity. We crept down the hill, and gained the fence, which was at
the back of the farmhouse, without being discovered: we remained there
for about a quarter of an hour, when, to our great joy, we observed the
farmer'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 went
in the direction of one of the other farms. As soon as she was a
hundred yards off, Hastings crept softly through the fence, and entered
the farmhouse by the back-door; he came out again, and made a sign for
us to come in. We found him already in possession of a rifle and a
musket, which had been hanging over the fire-place, and we soon handed
down the powder-horns and ammunition pouches, which were hung up at a
different part of the room, away from the fire-place.

"Having gained these, Hastings set me to watch at the front door, lest
anybody should return, while Romer and he looked out for something else
in the way of provisions. We got possession of three hams, and a large
loaf of bread as big as a small washing-tub. With these articles we
made our way safe back to our retreat. We then looked round, and could
see nobody in any direction, so we presumed that we were not
discovered. As there was a sort of ravine full of rocks dividing the
hill, which we were obliged to pass before we could get into the
valley, unless we went down close to the farmhouse, we agreed that it
would be better at once to cross it during the day-time, so that we
should get that difficulty over, and, at the same time, be further from
the farmhouse. We did so; and found a very secure hiding-place, where
we lay down, waiting for the sun to set before we started on our
journey 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, and
William went down together to the beach, and, after much examination,
chose a spot about one hundred yards from the turtle-pond as most
eligible for the purpose; the water being shallow, so that at the part
farthest 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 do
is 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 when
the water is a little rough; of course, the water will find its way
through 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 not
always that we can spare the time, so it's just as well to have always
a certain quantity at hand, to take out at a moment's warning; and we
can, of course, catch them and put them in here when we have nothing
else to do. Juno will be able to come down and take them out with a
spear, when we are away and she wants something for dinner."

"But there are few stones about here, Ready; we shall have to fetch
them a long way," said William.

"Well, then, William, let us get the wheels down here, and then we can
carry 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 and
bring it down; in the meantime, you and Mr. Seagrave can collect all
the stones which are near at hand."

Ready soon returned with the wheels, and the tub slung with rope on the
axle, and by that means they found that they could collect the stones
very fast; Mr. Seagrave and William bringing them, and Ready in the
water, 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 want
it when the hot weather comes on, but we will put it off till then. I
can tell you, sir, that although I don't mind building this wall in the
shallow water, I shall be very careful when the water is up to my
knees, 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 proof
of it."

"Tell us the story, Ready."

"Well, two soldiers were standing on the rocks at St. Helena; the rocks
were out of the water, but the swell just broke over them. Two sharks
swam up to them, and one of them, with a blow of his tail, turning
round the same way, tripped one of them into the water, which was very
deep. His comrade was very much frightened, and ran to the barracks to
tell 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 large
shark under the stern, put out a hook with a piece of pork, and caught
him; they opened him, and found inside of him, to their horror, the
whole of the body of the soldier, except the legs below the knees: the
monster had swallowed him whole, with the exception of his legs, which
it 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 how
we 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 of
food."

"But can they eat the cocoa-nuts?"

"Not the old ones, but they can the young ones, which are constantly
dropping from the trees, and then there's plenty of roots for them. If
we stay long here we shall soon have good sport hunting them; but we
must be very careful; for although they were tame pigs when we brought
them 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 Vixen
will 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 live
very 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 more
food on the island, we must keep the grass near home, to make hay and
stack it for the winter time - or the rainy season rather, for there is
no winter in these latitudes. I'm pretty sure we shall find some clear
land on the south of the island, for the cocoa-nut grove does not
extend 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 you
will go; we must not all three go at once, and leave Mrs. Seagrave
alone."

"No," replied Mr. Seagrave, "that would not be fair; either you or I
must remain, William."

William made no reply, but it was evident that he was annoyed at the
idea of not being of the party. They worked very hard that day, and the
walls rose fast out of the water.

After supper, Ready continued his narrative. "We remained concealed
until it was dark, and then Hastings and Romer, each with a musket on
his shoulders and a ham at his back; and I, being the smallest, with
the rifle and the great loaf of bread, set off on our journey. Our
intention was to travel north, as we knew that was the road leading
from the colony; but Hastings had decided that we should first go to
the eastward, so as to make what we sailors call a circumbendibus,
which would keep us out of the general track. We passed through the
deep sands of False Bay, and after that gradually ascended, getting
among 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 drink
of water, but we did not find any, although the moon shone as bright as
day. We distinctly heard, however, what we did not much like, the
howling 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 so
tired that we all sat down on the ledge of a rock. We dared not go to
sleep, so we remained there till daylight, listening to the howling of
the animals. We none of us spoke, and I presume that Hastings' and
Romer's thoughts were the same as my own, which were, that I would have
given a great deal to find myself safe and sound again within the
prison walls. However, daylight came at last; the wild beasts did not
prowl any more; we walked on till we found a stream of water, where we
sat down and took our breakfast, after which our courage revived, and
we talked and laughed as we walked on, just as we had done before. We
now began to ascend the mountains, which Hastings said must be the
Black Mountains that the soldiers had talked to us about. They were
very desolate; and when night came on we collected brushwood, and cut
down branches with our knives, that we might make a fire, not only to
warm ourselves, but to scare away the wild beasts, whose howling had
already commenced. We lighted our fire and ate our supper; the loaf was
half 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 our
muskets loaded close to us, and our ammunition placed out of danger. We
were so tired that we were soon fast asleep. It had been agreed that
Romer should keep the first watch, and Hastings the middle, and I the
morning; but Romer fell asleep, and the consequence was, that the fire
was not kept up. It was about midnight that I was awakened by something
breathing hard in my face, and just as I could recall my senses and
open my eyes, I found myself lifted up by my waistband, and the teeth
of some animal pinching my flesh. I tried to catch at my musket, but I
put out my wrong hand, and laid hold of a still lighted brand out of
the fire, which I darted into the animal's face; it let me drop
directly, and ran away."

"What a providential escape!" said Mrs. Seagrave.

"Yes, it was, ma'am; the animal was a hyena. Fortunately they are a
very cowardly sort of beast; still, had it not been for the lighted
stick, it would have carried me off, for I was very small then, and it
lifted me up as if I was a feather in its mouth. The shout I gave woke
Hastings, who seized his musket and fired. I was very much frightened,
as you may suppose. As for Romer, he never woke till we pushed him
hard, he was so completely knocked up. This affair, of course, made us
more cautious, and afterwards we lighted two fires, and slept between
them, 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 the
northward. Our provisions were all gone, and we were one day without
any; but we killed an antelope called a spring-bock, which gave us
provisions for three or four days: there was no want of game after we
had descended into the plain. I forgot to mention, however, a narrow
escape we had, just before we had left an extensive forest on the side
of the mountain. We had walked till past noon, and were very much
tired; we decided upon taking our dinner under a large tree, and we
threw ourselves down in the shade. Hastings was lying on his back, with
his eyes looking upwards, when he perceived on the lower branch of the
tree a panther, which lay along it, his green eyes fixed upon us, and
ready 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, within
three or four feet of where we lay, with a loud roar, and immediately
crouched to spring upon Romer; but it could not, for the back-bone
being broken, it had not any power in its hinder quarters, so it raised
up its fore quarters, and then dropped down again. I never saw such
rage and fury in an animal in my life. At first we were too much
frightened 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 bolder
than ever. Our clothes were all in rags; but we had plenty of powder
and ammunition; there were hundreds and hundreds of antelopes and gnus
in the plain - indeed, sometimes it was impossible to count them. But
this plentiful supply of game was the cause of our being in greater
danger, for now, for the first time, we heard the roar of the lions
every night. We made large fires to keep them off, but they often made
us 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 were
too much afraid to fire at them. Once we met one face to face. We had
killed an antelope called a hartebeest, and, with our muskets on our
shoulders, 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 was
lying on the top of the beast we had killed, his eyes flashing fire at
us, and half raising himself, as if ready for a spring. We all took to
our heels as fast as we could. I never looked back till I was out of
breath: but the lion was content with our running away, and did not
take the trouble to follow us. Well, sir, we had been travelling, we
really hardly knew where, but certainly in a northerly direction, for
three weeks, and were quite worn out: we now all agreed that we had
done a very foolish thing, and would gladly have gone back again. For
my part, I declare that I was willing to lie down and die, if I could
have so done, and I became quite indifferent to the roaring of the
lions, and felt as if I should be glad if one would have made a meal of
me. At length, one morning, we fell in with a party of natives. They
were 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, and
they remained with us for five or six days. We tried by signs to
inquire of them, if there were any Dutch settlement about there; and
they understood us, and said that there was, in a direction which they
pointed out to us, to the north-east. We offered them a present if they
would show us the way. Two of the men agreed to go with us; the rest of
the tribe, with the women and children, went southward. The next day we
arrived at a Dutch settlement of three or four farmhouses, called
Graaff 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 third
day 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 the
beach nearly as deep as the other; so that there might be sufficient
water to prevent the gulls and man-of-war birds from darting down, and
striking the fish. While Ready was thus employed, Mr. Seagrave and
William collected more rocks, so as to divide the pond into four parts,
at the same time allowing a communication between each part. These
inside walls, as well as the outside, were made of sufficient width to
walk upon; by which means they would have all the fish within reach of
the spear, in case they wished to take them out. The day after the pond
was completed the weather changed. The rain poured down with great
force, but it was not accompanied with such terrific thunder and
lightning, nor were the storms of so long continuance, as at the
commencement of the rainy season. In the intervals of fine weather they
caught a great many fish, which they put into the pond, so that it was
well stocked. But a circumstance occurred, which was the occasion of
great alarm to them all; which was, that one evening William was taken
with a shivering, and complained very much of a pain in his head. Ready
had promised to continue his narrative on that evening, but William was
too ill to sit up. He was put into bed, and the next morning he was in
a violent fever. Mr. Seagrave was much alarmed, as the symptoms were
worse 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 he
has been struck by the sun."

The poor boy was for many days in great danger; and the cheerful house
was now one of gloom and silence. How fervent were now the morning and
evening prayers; how often during the day did his parents offer up a
petition to heaven for their dear boy's recovery. The weather became
finer every day, and it was almost impossible to keep Tommy quiet: Juno
went out with him and Albert every morning, and kept them with her
while she cooked; and, fortunately, Vixen had some young ones, and when
Juno could no longer amuse them, she brought them two of the puppies to
play with. As for the quiet, meek little Caroline, she would remain
during the whole day holding her mother's hand, and watching her
brother, or working with her needle by the side of his bed.

Ready, who could not be idle, had taken the hammer and cold chisel to
make the salt-pan, at which he worked during those portions of the day
in which his services were not required indoors; and as he sat chipping
away the rock, his thoughts were ever upon William, for he dearly loved
the boy for his amiable disposition and his cleverness; and many a time
during the day would he stop his work, and the tears would run down his
cheeks as he offered up his petition to the Almighty that the boy might
be spared to his afflicted parents. And those prayers were heard, for
on the ninth day William was pronounced by Ready and Mr. Seagrave to
have 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 two
or three days; and it was not till more than a fortnight after the
fever had left him that he could go out of the house. The joy that was
expressed by them all when the change took place may be imagined: nor
were the thanksgivings less fervent than had been the prayers.

During his convalescence, as there was nothing else to do, Mr. Seagrave
and Ready, who now went gladly to their work, determined, as the
salt-pan was finished, that they would make a bathing-place. Juno came
to their assistance, and was very useful in assisting to drag the
wheels which brought the rocks and stones; and Tommy was also brought
down, that he might be out of the way while Mrs. Seagrave and Caroline
watched the invalid. By the time that William was able to go out of the
house, the bathing-place was finished, and there was no longer any fear
of the sharks. William came down to the beach with his mother, and
looked at the work which had been done; he was much pleased with it,
and said, "Now, Ready, we have finished everything at home for the
present; all we have to do is to explore the island, and to go to the
cove and examine our collection from the wreck."

"Very true, William; and the weather has been so fine, that I think we
may venture upon one or the other in a few days more; but not till you
are 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," said
William, after they had taken their supper; "I wish you would do so
now, as I am sure I shall not be tired."

"With pleasure, William," replied Ready; "but can you remember where I
left off, for my memory is none of the best?"

"Oh, yes; if you recollect, you had just arrived at a Dutch farmer's
house, in company with the savages, at a place called Graaff Reinet, I
think."

"Well then, the Dutch farmer came out when he saw us coming, and asked
us who we were. We told him that we were English prisoners, and that we
wished to give ourselves up to the authorities. He took away our arms
and ammunition, and said that he was the authority in that part, which
was true enough; and then he said, `You'll not run away without arms
and ammunition, that's certain. As for sending you to the Cape, that I
may not be able to do for months; so if you wish to be fed well, you
must work well while you're here.' We replied, that we should be very
glad to make ourselves useful, and then he sent us some dinner by a
Hottentot girl. But we soon found out that we had to deal with an
ill-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 the
Hottentots went out with the cattle, but he gave us plenty of work to
do about the house; and at last he treated us very cruelly. When he was
short of provisions for the Hottentots and other slaves, of whom he bad
a 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 live
upon 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 would
give us nothing to eat but quaggas, the same as the Hottentots, while
he and his family - for he had a wife and five children - lived upon
mutton 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 kicked
Romer 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 the
farm, and every day he was more brutal towards us. At last we agreed
that 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, and
ordered them to tie him to the waggon wheel, swearing that he would cut
every bit of skin off his body, and he went into his house to get his
whip. The slaves had hold of Hastings, and were tying him up, for they
dared not disobey their master, when he said to us, `If I am flogged
this way, it will be all over with us. Now's your time; run back behind
the house, and when he comes out with the whip, do you go in and seize
the muskets, which are always ready loaded. Hold him at bay till I get
clear, and then we will get away somehow or other. You must do it, for
I am sure he will flog me till I am dead, and he will shoot you, as
runaway prisoners, as he did his two Hottentots the other day.' As
Romer and I thought this very probable, we did as Hastings told us; and
when the Dutchman had gone towards him where he was tied up, about
fifty 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 cared
not for. We seized two muskets and a large knife, and came out just as
the Dutchman had struck the first blow with the rhinoceros whip, which
was so severe, that it took away poor Hastings' breath. We went up; he
turned round and saw us: we levelled our muskets at him, and he
stopped. `Another blow, and we'll shoot you,' cried Romer. `Yes,' cried
I; `we are only boys, but you've Englishmen to deal with.' When we came
up, Romer kept his piece levelled at the Dutchman, while I passed him,
and with the knife cut the thongs which bound Hastings. The Dutchman
turned pale and did not speak, he was so frightened, and the slaves ran
away. 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, seized
some ammunition and other articles which might be useful. We then went
to 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 should
be pursued, we first galloped away as if we were going eastward to the
Cape; and then, as soon as we were on ground which would not show the
tracks of our horses' hoofs, we turned round to the northward, in the
direction of the Bushman country. It was dark soon after we had altered
our course; but we travelled all night, and although we heard the
roaring of the lions at a distance, we met with no accident. At
daylight we rested our horses, and gave them some corn, and then sat
down 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 speak
Dutch, but we could make ourselves understood by the Hottentots and
other natives. While we were eating we held a consultation how we
should proceed. We were aware that the Dutchmen would shoot us if they
came up with us, and that they would come out in strong force against
us; and we were afraid that we had killed the man, and if so, they
would hang us as soon as we got to the Cape; so we were at a great loss
to know how to act. At last we decided that we would cross the country
of 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 there
would be less fear of the wild beasts, or of being seen; so we went
fast asleep for many hours. Towards the evening, we found water for the
horses, and then we fed them again, and proceeded on our journey. I
won't tell what passed every day for a fortnight, by which time we had
pretty well killed our horses, and we were compelled to stop among a
tribe of Gorraguas, a very mild, inoffensive people, who supplied us
with milk, and treated us very kindly. We had some adventures,
nevertheless. One day as we were passing by a tuft of small trees, a
rhinoceros charged upon my horse, which very narrowly escaped by
wheeling short round and getting behind him; the beast then made off
without meddling with us any more. Every day we used to shoot some
animal or other, for provision: sometimes it was a gnu, something
between an antelope and a bull; at other times it was one of the
antelope kind.

"Well, we stayed for three weeks with these people, and gave our horses
time to refresh themselves; and then we set off again, keeping more
towards the coast as we went southward, for the Gorraguas told us that
there was a fierce native tribe, called Kaffers, to the northward, who
would certainly kill us if we went there. The fact is, we did not know
what to do. We had left the Cape without any exact idea where we should
go to, like foolish boys as we were, and we became more entangled with
difficulties every day. At last we decided that it would be better to
find our way back to the Cape, and deliver ourselves up as prisoners,
for we were tired out with fatigue and constant danger. All that we
were afraid of was that we had killed the Dutch farmer at Graaff
Reinet, who had treated us so brutally; but Hastings said he did not
care; that was his business, and he would take his chance: so when we
bade adieu to the Gorraguas, we turned our horses' heads to the
south-east, so as to make the sea and go to the southward at the same
time.

"I have now to mention a most melancholy event which occurred. Two days
after we had recommenced our travels, in passing through some high
grass, we stumbled on a lion, which was devouring a gnu. Romer, who
happened to be some ten yards foremost of the three, was so alarmed
that he fired at the animal, which we had agreed never to do, as it was
folly to enrage so powerful a beast, when our party was so small. The
lion was slightly wounded; he gave a roar that might have been heard
for a mile, sprang upon Romer, and with one blow of his paw knocked him
off the saddle into the bushes. Our horses, which were frightened,
wheeled round and fled, for the animal was evidently about to attack
us. As it was, he did make one bound in our direction; we could not
pull up until we had gone half a mile; and when we did, we saw the lion
had torn down the horse which Romer had ridden, and was dragging away
the carcass to the right at a sort of a canter, without any apparent
effort on his part. We waited till he was well off, and then rode back
to the spot where Romer had fallen: we soon found him, but he was quite
dead; the blow with the lion's paw had fractured his skull.

"I ought to have said that the Gorraguas told us not to travel by
night, but by day; and we had done so in consequence of their advice. I
believe it was very good advice, notwithstanding this unfortunate
accident, for we found that when we had travelled all night the lions
had more than once followed us the whole time; and indeed I have often
thought since that we were altogether indebted to his mercy who
ordereth all things, both in heaven and earth, that we escaped so well
as we did. Three days after poor Romer's death we first saw the wide
ocean again. We kept near the coast, but we soon found that we could
not obtain the supply of game, or fuel for our fires at night, so well
as we could in the interior, and we agreed to get away from the coast
again. We had a dreary plain to pass over, and we were quite faint for
want of food - for we had been without any for nearly two days - when
we came upon an ostrich. Hastings put his horse to his speed, but it
was of no use - the ostrich ran much faster than the horse could. I
remained behind, and, to my great joy, discovered his nest, with
thirteen large eggs in it. Hastings soon came back, with his horse
panting and out of wind. We sat down, lighted a fire, and roasted two
of the eggs: we made a good dinner of them, and having put four more on
our saddle-bows, we continued our journey. At last, one forenoon, we
saw the Table Mountain, and were as glad to see it as if we had seen
the white cliffs of Old England. We pushed on our horses with the hopes
of being once more comfortably in prison before night; when, as we
neared the bay, we noticed that English colours were flying on board of
the vessels in the road. This surprised us very much; but soon after
that we met an English soldier, who told us that the Cape had been
taken by our forces more than six months ago. This was a joyful
surprise, as you may suppose. We rode into the town, and reported
ourselves 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 and
Mr. Seagrave took the lines to add to the stock of the fish-pond. As
the weather was fine and cool, William accompanied them, that he might
have the benefit of the fresh air. As they passed the garden, they
observed that the seeds sown had already sprung up an inch or two above
the ground, and that, apparently none of them had missed. While Ready
and Mr. Seagrave were fishing, and William sitting near them, William
said 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 never
heard any voyagers mention having seen inhabitants on the isles near
which 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 in
civilization. The natives of Van Diemen's Land and Australia are some
portions of them of a very degraded class - indeed, little better than
the 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 the
field. I saw them once; and, at first, thought they were animals, and
not human beings."

"Indeed, Ready; where may that be?"

"In the Great Andaman Isles, at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal. I once
anchored in distress in Port Cornwallis, and the morning after we
anchored, we saw some black things going upon all fours under the trees
that came down to the water's edge. We got the telescope, and perceived
then 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 at
one time the East India Company intended making a settlement on the
island, and sent some troops there. He said that they caught two of
them; that they were not more than four feet high, excessively stupid
and shy; they had no houses or huts to live in, and all that they did
was 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 so
small, 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 have
become 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 saving
their lives by effecting a landing, as we have done."

"I believe that's the truth," replied Ready; "I heard say that the
Andaman Isles were supposed to have been first inhabited by a slaver
full 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 at
the change of the monsoons."

"But what are monsoons?"

"Winds that blow regular from one quarter so many months during the
year, and then change round and blow from another just as long."

"And what are the trade-winds, which I heard poor Captain Osborn
talking about after we left Madeira?"

"The trade-winds blow on the equator, and several degrees north and
south of it, from the east to the west, following the course of the
sun."

"Is it the sun which produces these winds?"

"Yes, the extreme heat of the sun between the tropics rarefies the air
as the earth turns round, and the trade-winds are produced by the
rushing 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, and
blowing from east to west, have great effect upon the sea, which is
forced up into the Gulf of Mexico (where it is stopped by the shores of
America), so that it is many feet higher in the Gulf than in the
eastern part of the Atlantic. This accumulation of water must of course
find a vent somewhere, and it does in what is called the Gulf Stream,
by which the waters are poured out, running very strong to the
northward, along the shores of America, and then eastward, passing not
far from Newfoundland, until its strength is spent somewhere to the
northward of the Azores."

"The Gulf Stream, William," said Ready, "is always several degrees
warmer than the sea in general, which is, they say, owing to its waters
remaining in the Gulf of Mexico so long, where the heat of the sun is
so great."

"What do you mean by the land and sea breezes in the West Indies, and
other hot climates, papa?"

"It is the wind first blowing off from the shore, and then blowing from
the sea towards the shore, during certain hours of the day, which it
does regularly every twenty-four hours. This is also the effect of the
heat of the sun. The sea breeze commences in the morning, and in the
afternoon it dies away, when the land breeze commences, which lasts
till midnight."

"There are latitudes close to the trade-winds," said Ready, "where the
wind is not certain, where ships have been becalmed for weeks; the
crews have exhausted the water on board, and they have suffered
dreadfully. We call them the Horse latitudes - why, I do not know. But
it is time for us to leave off, and for Master William to go into the
house."

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, and
I was put down on the books as a supernumerary boy. I was on board of
her 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 put
into the mizen-top. I found it very comfortable. I did my duty, and the
consequence was, I never was punished; for a man may serve on board of
a 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 merchant
vessels, where there are so few hands - there it is hard work. Of
course, there are some captains who command men-of-war who are harsh
and severe; but it was my good fortune to be with a very mild and
steady captain, who was very sorry when he was obliged to punish the
men, although he would not overlook any improper conduct. The only
thing which was a source of constant unhappiness to me was, that I
could not get to England again, and see my mother. I had written two or
three letters, but never had an answer; and at last I became so
impatient that I determined to run away the very first opportunity
which might offer. We were then stationed in the West Indies, and I had
very often consultations with Hastings on the subject, for he was quite
as anxious to get away as I was; and we had agreed that we would start
off together the very first opportunity. At last we anchored in Port
Royal, Jamaica, and there was a large convoy of West India ships, laden
with sugar, about to sail immediately. We knew that if we could get on
board of one, they would secrete us until the time of sailing, for they
were short-handed enough, the men-of-war having pressed every man they
could lay their hands upon. There was but one chance, and that was by
swimming on board of one of the vessels during the night-time, and that
was easy enough, as they were anchored not a hundred yards from our own
ship. What we were afraid of was the sharks, which were so plentiful in
the harbour. However, the night before the convoy was to sail we made
up our minds that we would run the risk, for we were so impatient to
escape 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 last
night - that we lowered ourselves down very softly from the bows of the
ship, and as soon as we were in the water we struck out for one of the
West Indiamen close to us. The sentry at the gangway saw the light in
the water made by our swimming through it, and he hailed, of course; we
gave no answer, but swam as fast as we could; for after he had hailed
we heard a bustle, and we knew that the officer of the watch was
manning a boat to send after us. I had just caught hold of the cable of
the West Indiaman, and was about to climb up by it, for I was a few
yards before Hastings, when I heard a loud shriek, and, turning round,
perceived a shark plunging down with Hastings in his jaws. I was so
frightened, that for a short time I could not move: at last I recovered
myself, and began to climb up by the cable as fast as I could. I was
just in time, for another shark made a rush at me; and although I was
clear out of the water more than two feet, he sprung up and just caught
my shoe by the heel, which he took down with him. Fear gave me
strength, and in a second or two afterwards I was up at the
hawse-holes, and the men on board, who had been looking over the bows,
and had witnessed poor Hastings' death, helped me on board, and hurried
me 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 had
perceived us both in the water, close to their vessel, and that the
sharks had taken us down. As the shriek of Hastings was heard by the
people in the boat, the officer believed that it was the case, and
returned to the ship. I heard the drum beat to quarters on board of the
man-of-war, that they might ascertain who were the two men who had
attempted to swim away, and a few minutes afterwards they beat the
retreat, having put down D. D. against my name on the books, as well as
against 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 I
was not so."

"It was a miraculous escape indeed," observed Mr. Seagrave.

"Yes, indeed, sir; I can hardly describe my sensations for some hours
afterwards. I tried to sleep, but could not - I was in agony. The
moment I slumbered, I thought the shark had hold of me, and I would
start up and shriek; and then I said my prayers and tried to go to
sleep again, but it was of no use. The captain of the West Indiaman was
afraid that my shrieks would be heard, and he sent me down a tumbler of
rum to drink off; this composed me, and at last I fell into a sound
sleep. When I awoke, I found that the ship was under weigh and with all
canvas set, surrounded by more than a hundred other vessels; the
men-of-war who took charge of the convoy, firing guns and making
signals incessantly. It was a glorious sight, and we were bound for Old
England. I felt so happy, that I thought I would risk the jaws of
another shark to have regained my liberty, and the chance of being once
more on shore in my own country, and able to go to Newcastle and see my
poor 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 the
first sight of the vessels under weigh for England produced upon me. I
can honestly say that I was a better and more serious person. The very
next night, when I was in my hammock, I prayed very fervently; and
there happened to be a very good old Scotchman on board, the second
mate, who talked very seriously to me, and pointed out how wonderful
had been my preservation, and I felt it. It was he who first read the
Bible with me, and made me understand it, and, I may say, become fond
of 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 to
Glasgow, and we parted company with the convoy at North Foreland, and
arrived safe in port. The captain took me to the owners, who paid me
fifteen guineas for my services during the voyage home; and as soon as
I received the money, I set off for Newcastle as fast as I could. I had
taken a place on the outside of the coach, and I entered into
conversation with a gentleman who sat next to me. I soon found out that
he belonged to Newcastle, and I first inquired if Mr. Masterman, the
ship-builder, was still alive. He told me that he had been dead about
three months. `And to whom did he leave his money?' I asked, `for he
was very rich, and had no kin.' `He had no relations,' replied the
gentleman, `and he left all his money to build an hospital and
almshouses. He had a partner in his business latterly, and he left the
yard and all the stores to him, I believe, because he did not know whom
to leave it to. There was a lad whom I knew for certain he intended to
have 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 is
supposed that he was lost in a prize, for he was traced so far. Foolish
boy 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 doted
upon 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 the
gentleman by the arm.

"`Yes,' replied he, looking at me with surprise; `she died last year of
a broken heart.'

"I fell back on the luggage behind me, and should have fallen off the
coach if the gentleman had not held me. He called to the coachman to
pull up the horses, and they took me down, and put me inside; and as
the coach rolled on, I cried as if my heart would break."

Ready appeared so much affected, that Mr. Seagrave proposed that he
should leave off his history for the present.

"Thank you, sir, it will be better; for I feel my old eyes dim with
tears, 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 eggs
in her apron, which she had found in the hen-house.

"Look, Missy Seagrave - fowls lay eggs - soon have plenty - plenty for
Master William - make him well again - and plenty for chickens by and
by."

"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 it
would be better to leave the eggs for the hens to sit upon."

"No, no, William; your health is of more consequence than having early
chickens."

For a few days Mr. Seagrave and Ready were employed at the garden
clearing away the weeds, which had begun to sprout up along with the
seeds which had been sown; during which time William recovered very
fast. 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 the
hens appeared also not to have laid, much to the surprise of Mrs.
Seagrave; as when hens commence laying eggs they usually continue. On
the fifth morning, when they sat down to breakfast, Master Tommy did
not make his appearance, and Mrs. Seagrave asked where he was.

"I suspect, madam," said Old Ready, laughing, "that Tommy will not come
either 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 no
eggs, 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 I
argued, that if an animal, supposing there was any on the island, had
taken the eggs, it would not have been so careful to hide the
egg-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 to
roost; and then, after you were up, I watched behind the trees, and saw
Tommy come out, and go to the hen-house. He tried the door, and finding
it fast, crept into the hen-house by the little sliding-door. As soon
as he was in I let down the slide, and fastened it with a nail; so
there 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 lesson
to him."

Mr. Seagrave, Ready, and William, as usual, went down to their work;
Mrs. Seagrave and Juno, with little Caroline, were busy indoors. Tommy
remained very quiet for an hour, when he commenced roaring; but it was
of no use, no one paid any attention to him. At dinner-time he began to
roar again, but with as little success: it was not till the evening
that the door of the hen-house was opened, and Tommy permitted to come
out. 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, in
the end, that you will have less to eat, instead of more, as you have
this day."

Tommy waited very quietly and very sulkily till supper was ready, when
he made up for lost time. After which Ready continued his narrative.

"I told you, William, that I was informed by the gentleman on the coach
that my mother had died of a broken heart, in consequence of my
supposed death. I was in agony until I arrived at Newcastle, where I
could ascertain all the facts connected with her decease. When the
coach stopped, the gentleman, who had remained outside, came to the
coach 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, very
sorrowfully, `I am.' `Well, my man,' said he, `cheer up; when you went
away you were young and thoughtless, and certainly had no idea that you
would have distressed your mother as you did. It was not your going to
sea, 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 something
to say to you.'

"`I will call upon you to-morrow, sir,' replied I; `I cannot do
anything until I talk to the neighbours and visit my poor mother's
grave. It is very true that I did not intend to distress my mother; and
that the report of my death was no fault of mine. But I cannot help
feeling that, if I had not been so thoughtless, she would be still
alive and happy.' The gentleman gave me his address, and I promised to
call upon him next morning. I then went to the house my mother used to
live in. I knew that she was not there; yet I was disappointed and
annoyed when I heard merry laughter within. I looked in, for the door
was open; in the corner where my mother used to sit, there was a
mangle, and two women busily at work; others were ironing at a large
table; and when they cried out to me, `What do you want?' and laughed
at 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 the
wife at home, but she did not know me; and I told her who I was. She
had 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 my
mind to hear that my poor mother could not have lived, as she had an
incurable cancer; but at the same time the woman told me that I was
ever 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, and
that she had wanted nothing. I then asked her to show me where my
mother 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 mound
of turf which covered her, and long and bitterly did I weep her loss
and pray for forgiveness.

"It was quite dark when I left the spot and went back to the cottage of
the kind woman who had attended my mother. I conversed with her and her
husband till late, and then, as they offered me a bed, I remained with
them that night. Next morning I went to keep my appointment with the
gentleman whom I had met in the coach: I found by the brass plate on
the door that he was a lawyer. He desired me to sit down, and then he
closed the door carefully, and having asked me many questions, to
ascertain if I was really Masterman Ready, he said he was the person
employed at Mr. Masterman's death, and that he had found a paper which
was of great consequence, as it proved that the insurance of the vessel
which had belonged to my father and Mr. Masterman, and which had been
lost, had not been made on Mr. Masterman's share only, but upon my
father's as well, and that Mr. Masterman had defrauded my mother. He
said 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 supposed
to be dead, he did not see any use in making known so disagreeable a
circumstance; but that, now I had re-appeared, it was his duty so to
do, and that he would arrange the matter for me, if I pleased, with the
corporation of the town, to whom all Mr. Masterman's property had been
left in trust to build an hospital and almshouses. He said that the
insurance on the vessel was three thousand pounds, and that one-third
of the vessel belonged to my father, so that a thousand pounds were due
to him, which the interest for so many years would increase to above
two thousand pounds. This was good news for me, and you may suppose I
readily agreed to all he proposed. He set to work at once, and having
called together the mayor and corporation of the town, and proved the
document, they immediately agreed that I was entitled to the money, and
that it should be paid to me without any contest. Thus you see, Master
William, 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 ideas
of the world; every one congratulated me, and I was myself so inflated
with my good fortune, that I forgot all the promises of amendment, all
the vows of leading a good life, which I made over my poor mother's
grave. Now do you perceive why I called it a temptation, Master
William?"

"My dear child," said Mr. Seagrave, "riches and prosperity in this
world prove often the greatest of temptations; it is adversity that
chastens and amends us, and which draws us to God."

"As soon as the money was in my own hands," continued Ready, "I began
to squander it away in all manner of folly. Fortunately, I had not
received it more than ten days, when the Scotch second mate came like a
guardian angel to save me. As soon as I had made known to him what had
taken place, he reasoned with me, pointed out to me that I had an
opportunity of establishing myself for life, and proposed that I should
purchase a part of a vessel, on condition that I was captain of her. I
liked this idea very much, and being convinced that I had been making a
fool of myself, I resolved to take his advice; but one thing only
restrained me: I was still very young, not more than twenty years old;
and although I could navigate at one time, I had latterly paid no
attention. I told Sanders this, and he replied, that if I would take
him as my first mate, that difficulty would be got over, as he could
navigate well, and that I could learn to do so in the first voyage; so
all was arranged.

"Fortunately, I had not spent above one hundred pounds of the money. I
set off for Glasgow in company with Sanders, and he busied himself very
hard in looking about for a vessel that would suit. At last, he found
that there was one ready for launching, which, in consequence of the
failure of the house for which it was built, was to be sold. He made
inquiries, and having found who was likely to purchase her - that it
was a very safe and respectable firm - he made a proposal for me that I
should take one-fourth share of her, and command her. As Sanders was
very respectable, and well known to be a steady man, his recommendation
was 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 the
vessel was launched, was very busy with Sanders, whom I had chosen as
first mate, in fitting her out. The house which had purchased her with
me was a West India firm, and the ship was of course intended for the
West India trade. I had two or three hundred pounds left, after I had
paid my share of the vessel, and this I employed in purchasing a
venture on my own account, and providing nautical instruments, &c. I
also fitted myself out, for you see, William, although Sanders had
persuaded me to be rational, I was still puffed up with pride at the
idea of being captain of my own ship; it was too great a rise for one
who had just before been a lad in the mizen-top of a man-of-war. I
dressed myself very smart - wore white shirts, and rings on my fingers.
Indeed, as captain and part owner of a fine vessel, I was considered as
somebody, and was often invited to the table of the other owners of the
vessel. I was well off, for my pay was ten pounds a month, independent
of what my own venture might produce, and my quarter-share of the
profits of the vessel. This may be considered as the most prosperous
portion of my life; and so, if you please, we will leave off here for
to-night, for I may as well tell you at once that it did not last very
long."

Chapter XLI

For several days after, they were employed in clearing away the stumps
of the cocoa-nut trees in the winding path to the storehouse; and as
soon as that work was finished, Ready put up a lightning-conductor at
the side of the storehouse, like the one which he had put up near to
the cottage. They had now got through all the work that they had
arranged to do during the rainy season. The ewes had lambed, but both
the sheep and the goats began to suffer for want of pasture. For a week
they had no rain, and the sun burst out very powerfully; and Ready was
of opinion that the rainy season was now over. William had become quite
strong again, and he was very impatient that they should commence the
survey of the island. After a great deal of consultation, it was at
last settled, that Ready and William should make the first survey to
the southward, and then return and report what they had discovered.
This was decided upon on the Saturday evening, and on the Monday
morning they were to start. The knapsacks were got ready, and well
filled with boiled salt pork, and flat cakes of bread. They were each
to have a musket and ammunition, and a blanket was folded up to carry
on the shoulders, that they might sleep on it at night. Ready did not
forget his compass, or the small axes, for them to blaze the trees as
they went through the wood.

The whole of Saturday was occupied in making their preparations. After
supper, Ready said, "Now, William, before we start on our travels, I
think I may as well wind up my history. I haven't a great deal more to
tell, as my good fortune did not last long; and after my remaining so
long in a French prison, my life was one continued chapter of from bad
to worse. Our ship was soon ready, and we sailed with convoy for
Barbadoes. Sanders proved a good navigator, and from him, before we
arrived at Barbadoes, I gained all the knowledge which I required to
enable me to command and navigate my vessel. Sanders attempted to renew
our serious conversation, but my property had made me vain; and now
that I felt I could do without his assistance, I not only kept him at a
distance, but assumed the superior. This was a very ungrateful return
for 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 told
me that it was his intention to quit the vessel. I replied very
haughtily, that he might do as he pleased; the fact is, I was anxious
to 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 ship
was soon with a full cargo of sugar on board of her, and we waited for
convoy to England. When at Barbadoes, I had an opportunity to buy four
brass guns, which I mounted on deck, and had a good supply of
ammunition on board. I was very proud of my vessel, as she had proved
in the voyage out to be a very fast sailer: indeed, she sailed better
than some of the men-of-war which convoyed us; and now that I had guns
on board, I considered myself quite safe from any of the enemies'
privateers. While we were waiting for convoy, which was not expected
for a fortnight, it blew a very heavy gale, and my ship, as well as
others, dragged their anchors, and were driven out of Carlisle Bay. We
were obliged to make sail to beat into the bay again, it still blowing
very fresh. What with being tired waiting so long for convoy, and the
knowledge that arriving before the other West Indiamen would be very
advantageous, I made up my mind that, instead of beating up into the
bay again, I would run for England without protection, trusting to the
fast sailing of my vessel and the guns which I had on board. I forgot
at the time that the insurance on the vessel was made in England as
`sailing with convoy', and that my sailing without would render the
insurance void, if any misfortune occurred. Well, sir, I made sail for
England, and for three weeks everything went on well. We saw very few
vessels, and those which did chase us could not come up with us; but as
we were running with a fair wind up channel, and I had made sure of
being in port before night, a French privateer hove in sight and gave
chase. We were obliged to haul our wind, and it blowing very fast, we
carried away our main-top mast. This accident was fatal; the privateer
came alongside of us and laid us by the board, and that night I was in
a French prison, and, I may say, a pauper; for the insurance of the
vessel was void, from my having sailed without convoy. I felt that I
had 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 for
nearly six years. I contrived to escape with three or four others; we
suffered dreadfully, and at last arrived in England, in a Swedish
vessel, 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 of
a ship, and I tried for that of second mate, but without success; I was
too ragged and looked too miserable; so I determined, as I was
starving, to go before the mast. There was a fine vessel in the port; I
went on board to offer myself; the mate went down to the captain, who
came on deck, and who should he be but Sanders? I hoped that he would
not remember me, but he did immediately, and held out his hand. I never
did feel so ashamed in my life as I did then. Sanders perceived it, and
asked 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 offered
me a berth on board, and money in advance to fit me out. But if he
would not remember my conduct, I could not forget it, and I told him
so, and begged his forgiveness. Well, sir, that good man, as long as he
lived, was my friend. I became his second mate before he died, and we
were again very intimate. My misfortunes had humbled me, and I once
more 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 was
displaced. Since that, I have always been as a common seaman on board
of different vessels; but I have been well treated and respected, and I
may add, I have not been unhappy, for I felt that property would have
only led me into follies, and have made me forget, that in this world
we are to live so as to prepare ourselves for another. Now, William,
you have the history of Masterman Ready; and I hope that there are
portions of it which may prove useful to you. To-morrow we must be off
betimes, and as we are all to breakfast early together, why, I think
the 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 early
hour. The knapsacks and guns, and the other requisites for the journey,
were all prepared; William and Ready rose from the table, and taking an
affectionate leave of Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave, they started on their
journey. The sun was shining brilliantly, and the weather had become
warm; 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 the
storehouse, and ascending the hill on the other side, they got their
hatchets ready to blaze the trees; and Ready having set his course by
his pocket compass, they were fairly on their way. For some time they
continued to cut the bark of the trees with their hatchets, without
speaking, 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 must
keep a little more away to the southward. We had better get on as fast
as we can. We shall have less work by and by, and then we can talk
better."

For half-an-hour they continued their way through the wood, and, as
Ready had observed, the trees became more distant from each other;
still, however, they could not see anything before them but the stems
of 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 be
tired."

"I have not been so used to exercise, Ready, and therefore I feel it
more," replied William, wiping his face with his handkerchief. "I
should like to stop a few minutes. How long do you think it will be
before 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 to
find, which is, a good space of clear ground between the beach and the
wood, where we may pasture our sheep and goats; and perhaps we may find
some other trees besides cocoa-nuts: at present, you know, we have seen
only them and the castor-oil beans, that Tommy took such a dose of. You
see, William, there is no saying what new seeds may have been brought
here 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 years
under-ground, and come up afterwards when exposed to the heat."

They continued their way, and had not walked for more than a quarter of
an hour, when William cried out, "I see the blue sky, Ready; we shall
soon 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 tired
of marking the trees; however, we must continue to mark, or we shall
not find our way back when we want it."

In ten minutes more they were clear of the cocoa-nut grove, and found
themselves among brushwood higher than their heads; so that they could
not 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 of
William; "I feel more tired to-day than I did when we first went
through the wood, after we set off from the cove. I suppose it's the
weather. 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 very
trying 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 a
man 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 bottle
of water, at all events; indeed, I think that, as we must go back by
the same way we came, we may as well leave our knapsacks and everything
but our guns under these trees; I dare say we shall sleep here too, for
I told Mr. Seagrave positively not to expect us back to-night. I did
not like to say so before your mother, she is so anxious about you."

They opened their knapsacks, and made their meal, the two dogs coming
in for their share; after which they again started on their
discoveries. For about ten minutes they continued to force their way
through the thick and high bushes, till at last they broke out clear of
them, and then looked around them for a short time without speaking.
The sea was about half a mile distant, and the intervening land was
clear, with fresh blades of grass just bursting out of the earth,
composing a fine piece of pasture of at least fifty acres, here and
there broken with small patches of trees and brushwood; there was no
sandy beach, but the rocks rose from the sea about twenty to thirty
feet high, and were in one or two places covered with something which
looked as white as snow.

"Well, Ready," said William, "there will be no want of pasture for our
flock, even if it increases to ten times its number."

"No," replied Ready, "we are very fortunate, and have great reason to
be thankful; this is exactly what we required; and now let us go on a
little, and examine these patches of wood, and see what they are. I see
a bright green leaf out there, which, if my eyes do not fail me, I have
seen many a time before." When they arrived at the clump of trees which
Ready had pointed out, he said, "Yes, I was right. Look there, this is
the banana; it is just bursting out now, and will soon be ten feet
high, and bearing fruit which is excellent eating; besides which the
stem is capital fodder for the beasts."

"Here is a plant I never saw before," said William, pulling off a piece
of it, and showing it to Ready.

"But I have, William. It is what they call the bird's-eye pepper; they
make Cayenne pepper out of it. Look, the pods are just formed; it will
be 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 most
probable, for all the seeds of these plants and trees must have been
brought here by them. The banana and the pepper are the food of many
birds. What a quantity of bananas are springing up in this spot; there
will 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, I
know 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 are
very 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 from
the animals; it makes a capital fence, and grows very fast, and without
trouble. Now let us go on to that patch of trees, and see what they
are."

"What is this plant, Ready?"

"I don't know, William."

"Then I think I had better make a collection of all those you don't
know, and take them back to father; he is a good botanist."

William pulled a branch of the plant off, and carried it with him. On
their arrival at the next patch of trees, Ready looked at them
steadfastly for some time.

"I ought to know that tree," said he. "I have often seen it in hot
countries. 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," said
William; "and from there down to the rocks; I want to find out how it
is 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 be
monkeys."

"No, they are not monkeys; but I'll tell you what they are, although I
cannot see them; they are parrots - I know their noise well. You see,
William, it's not very likely that monkeys should get here, but birds
can, and it is the birds that we have to thank for the bananas and
guavas, and other fruits we may find here."

As soon as they came under the trees, there was a great rioting and
fluttering, and then away flew, screaming as loud as they could, a
flock of about three hundred parrots, their beautiful green and blue
feathers 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 in
the West Indies, and in South America. Stop, let us come a little this
way; 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 better
for 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 have
found 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, and
commenced baying; there was a great rustling and snorting.

"What's that?" cried William, who had been stooping down to examine the
yam plant, and who was startled at the noise.

Ready laughed heartily. "It isn't the first time that they've made you
jump, 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'll
be bound."

Ready gave a shout, and a grunting and rushing were heard among the
broad leaves, and, very soon, out rushed, instead of the six, about
thirty 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 yams
from 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 pears
outside. Now, we'll go down to the sea-side."

As they neared the rocks, which were bare for about fifty yards from
the water's edge, Ready said, "I can tell you now what those white
patches on the rocks are, William; they are the places where the
sea-birds come to every year to make their nests, and bring up their
young. They always come to the same place every year, if they are not
disturbed." They soon arrived at the spot, and found it white with the
feathers 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 begin
to lay, and then we will come and take the eggs, if we want any, for
they 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 provides
for us so plentifully in the wilderness."

"Do you know, Ready, I cannot help thinking that we ought to have built
our house here."

"Not so, William; we have not the pure water, recollect, and we have
not the advantages of the sandy beach, where we have our turtle- and
fish-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, and
every other good provided for us; but our house and home must be where
it 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 they
discovered a little basin, completely formed in the rocks, with a
narrow entrance.

"See, William, what a nice little harbour for our boat! we may here
load it with yams and take it round to the bay, provided we can find an
entrance through the reefs on the southern side of it, which we have
not 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 the
direction.

"That is a sea crawfish, quite as good eating as a lobster. I wonder if
I could make a lobster-pot; we should catch plenty, and very good they
are."

"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 had
in this world without labour."

"Ready," said William, "we have good three hours' daylight; suppose we
go back and tell what we have seen: my mother will be so glad to see
us."

"I agree with you, William. We have done well for one day; and may
safely go back again, and remain for another week. There are no fruits
at present, and all I care about are the yams; I should like to protect
them from the pigs. But let us go home and talk the matter over with
Mr. Seagrave."

They found out the spot where they had left their knapsacks and
hatchets, and again took their path through the cocoa-nut trees,
following the blaze which they had made in the morning. One hour before
sunset they arrived at the house, where they found Mr. and Mrs.
Seagrave sitting outside, and Juno standing on the beach with the two
children, who were amusing themselves with picking up the shells which
were strewed about. William gave a very clear account of all they had
seen, and showed his father the specimens of the plants which he had
collected.

"This," said Mr. Seagrave, "is a well-known plant; and I wonder Ready
did not recognize it; it is hemp."

"I never saw it except in the shape of rope," replied Ready. "I know
the 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 they
eat it in the hot countries."

"Yes, sir, they do; they fry it with pepper and salt; they call it
bringal. 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 and
bye."

"I have only one more, papa: what is this?"

"You don't know it, because it has sprung up so high, William; but it
is the common mustard plant, - what we use in England, and is sold as
mustard 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 as
to their future proceedings; and, after some debate, it was agreed that
it 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 see
if they could find a passage through it, as it would take a long while
to go round it; and, as soon as that was accomplished, Mr. Seagrave,
Ready, William, and Juno should all go through the wood, carrying with
them a tent to pitch on the newly-discovered piece of ground: and that
they should set up a flag-staff at the little harbour, to point out its
position. Of course, that would be a hard day's work; but that they
would, nevertheless, return the same night, and not leave Mrs. Seagrave
alone with the children. Having accomplished this, Ready and William
would then put the wheels and axle in the boat, and other articles
required, such as saw, hatchets, and spades, and row round to the south
side of the island, to find the little harbour. As soon as they had
landed them, and secured the boat, they would then return by the path
through the wood.

The next job would be to rail in the yam plantation to keep off the
pigs, and, at the same time, to drive the sheep and goats through the
wood, that they might feed on the new pasture ground. Ready and William
were then to cut down cocoa-nut trees sufficient for the paling, fix up
the posts, and when that was done, Mr. Seagrave was to come to them and
assist them in railing it in, and drawing the timber. This they
expected would be all done in about a month; and during that time, as
Mrs. Seagrave and Juno would be, for the greatest part of it, left at
the house, they were to employ themselves in clearing the garden of
weeds, and making preparation for fencing it in.

As soon as this important work had been completed, the boat would
return 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 had
been saved from the wreck, and were lying in the cove where they had
first landed. When they had examined them, and brought round what were
required, and secured them in the storehouse, they would then have a
regular survey of the island by land and by water. But man proposes and
God disposes, as will be shown by the interruption of their intended
projects which we shall have to narrate in the ensuing chapter.

Chapter XLIII

As usual, Ready was the first up on the following morning, and having
greeted Juno, who followed him out of the house, he set off on his
accustomed rounds, to examine into the stock and their other
possessions. He was standing in the garden at the point. First he
thought that it would be necessary to get ready some sticks for the
peas, which were now seven or eight inches out of the ground; he had
proceeded a little farther, to where the calivances, or French haricot
beans, had been sown, and had decided upon the propriety of hoeing up
the 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 winter
season. He had gone on to ascertain if the cucumber seeds had shown
themselves above-ground, and was pleased to find that they were doing
well. He said to himself, "We have no vinegar, that I know of, but we
can preserve them in salt and water, as they do in Russia; it will be a
change, at all events;" and then he raised his eyes and looked out to
the offing, and, as usual, scanned the horizon. He thought he saw a
ship to the north-east, and he applied his telescope to his eye. He was
not 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 effect
of this unexpected sight. After a minute, he again put his telescope to
his eye, and then made her out to be a brig, under top-sails and
top-gallant sails, steering directly for the island.

Ready walked to the rocky point, from which they fished, and sat down
to reflect. Could it be that the vessel had been sent after them, or
that she had by mere chance come among the islands? He decided after a
short time that it must be chance, for none could know that they were
saved, much less that they were on the island. Her steering towards the
island 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 own
time and in his own way, do with us as he thinks fit. I will not at
present say anything to Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave. It would be cruel to
raise 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 walked
towards the house. William was up, and the remainder of the family were
stirring.

"William," said Ready to him, as they walked away from the house, "I
have a secret to tell you, which you will at once see the necessity of
not telling to anyone at present. A few hours will decide the
question." William readily gave his promise. "There is a vessel off the
island; she may be the means of rescuing us, or she may pass without
seeing us. It would be too cruel a disappointment to your father and
mother, if the latter were the case."

William stared at Ready, and for a moment could not speak, his
excitement was so great.

"Oh, Ready, how grateful I am! I trust that we may he taken away, for
you have no idea how my poor father suffers in silence - and so does my
mother."

"I know it, William, I know it, and it is natural; they do their best
to control their yearnings, and they can do no more. But now we must be
quick, and at work before breakfast. But stop, I will show you the
vessel."

Ready caught the vessel in the field of the telescope, which he leant
against 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 telescope
down here, and we will go about our work."

William and Ready went to the storehouse for the axe. Ready selected a
very slight cocoa-nut tree nearest to the beach, which he cut down, and
as soon as the top was taken off with the assistance of William he
carried it down to the point.

"Now, William, go for a shovel and dig a hole here, that we may fix it
up as a flag-staff. When all is ready, I will go for a small block and
some rope for halyards to hoist up the flags as soon as the vessel is
likely to see them. At breakfast-time, I shall propose that you and I
get the boat out of the sand and examine her, and give Mr. Seagrave
some work indoors."

"But the flags, Ready; they are round my mother's bed. How shall we get
them?"

"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 be
aired this fine day. Ask your father to take the direction of the work
while 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 boat
out 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 bad
thing if we were to air bedding, as they say at sea; it is a fine, warm
day; 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 you
see, sir, I have thought more than once that the house does smell a
little close."

"It will be a very good thing, Ready," observed Mrs. Seagrave; "and, at
the same time, Juno and I will give the house a thorough cleaning and
sweeping."

"Had we not better have the canvas screens down, and air them too?"

"Yes," replied Ready; "we had better air everything. We will assist in
taking down the screens and flags, and spread them out to air, and
then, if Mr. Seagrave has no objection, we will leave him to
superintend and assist Madam and Juno."

"With all my heart," replied Mr. Seagrave. "We have done breakfast, and
will begin as soon as you please."

Ready and William took down the canvas screens and flags, and went out
of the cottage with them; they spread out the canvas at some distance
from 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 in
the cottage, the flag-staff was raised, and fixed in the ground, and
the flags all ready for hoisting; then Ready and William returned to
the 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 of
the vessel. All this did not occupy much more than an hour, during
which the brig continued her course steadily towards the island. When
Ready first saw her the wind was light, but latterly the breeze had
increased very much, and at last the brig took in her top-gallant
sails. The horizon behind the vessel, which had been quite clear, was
now banked up with clouds, and the waves curled in white foam over the
reefs of rocks extending from the island.

"The breeze is getting up strong, William," said Ready, "and she will
soon be down, if she is not frightened at the reefs, which she can see
plainer now the water is rough, than she could before."

"I trust she will not be afraid," replied William. "How far do you
think she is off now?"

"About five miles; not more. The wind has hauled round more to the
southward, and it is banking up fast, I see. I fear that we shall have
another smart gale; however, it won't last long. Come, let us hoist the
flags; we must not lose a chance; the flags will blow nice and clear
for 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 and
make a smoke; that will attract their notice."

As soon as the cocoa-nut leaves were lighted, Ready and William threw
water upon them, so as to damp them and procure a heavy column of
smoke. The vessel approached rapidly, and they were watching her in
silent suspense, when they perceived Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave, Juno
carrying Albert, with Tommy and Caroline running down as fast as they
could to the beach. The fact was, that Tommy, tired of work, had gone
out of the house and walked towards the beach; there he perceived,
first, the flags hoisted, and then he detected the vessel off the
island. He immediately ran back to the house, crying out, "Papa! Mamma!
Captain Osborn come back - come back in a big ship." At this
announcement, Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave ran out of the house, perceived the
vessel and the flags flying, and ran as fast as they could down to
where 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 to
you," replied Ready.

"She is altering her course, Ready," said William.

"Yes, sir, she has hauled to the wind; she is afraid of coming too near
to 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, she
hoists her ensign."

"Very true, sir; she does see us. Thanks be to God!"

Mr. Seagrave embraced his wife, who threw herself sobbing into his
arms, kissed his children with rapture, and wrung old Ready's hand. He
was 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 is
to get our own boat out of the sand. We know the passage through the
reefs, and they do not. I doubt if they will, however, venture to send
a boat on shore, until the wind moderates a little. You see, sir, it is
blowing 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 the
southward, and until the gale is over, they will not venture near an
island so surrounded with rocks. It would be very imprudent if they
did. However, sir, a few hours will decide."

"But, surely," said Mrs. Seagrave, "even if it does blow, they will not
leave the island without taking us off. They will come after the gale
is over."

"Yes, madam, if they can, I do think they will; but God knows, some men
have hard hearts, and feel little for the misery of others."

The brig had, in the meantime, kept away again, as if she was running
in; but very soon afterwards she hauled to the wind, with her head to
the 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 command
of that vessel, I should do just as they have done. The gale rises
fast, and it would be very dangerous for them to remain where they now
are. It does not at all prove that they intend to leave us; they but
consult their own safety, and, when the gale is over, we shall, I
trust, see them again."

No reply was made to Ready's judicious remarks. The Seagraves only saw
that the vessel was leaving them, and their hearts sank. They watched
her in silence, and as she gradually diminished to the view, so did
their hopes depart from them. The wind was now fierce, and a heavy
squall, with rain, obscured the offing, and the vessel was no longer to
be distinguished. Mr. Seagrave turned to his wife, and mournfully
offered her his arm. They walked away from the beach without speaking;
the remainder of the party, with the exception of old Ready, followed
them. Ready remained some time with his eyes in the direction where the
vessel was last seen. At last he hauled down the ensign and flag, and,
throwing them over his shoulder, followed the disconsolate party to the
house.

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 evening
closed in; it was time to retire. The countenance of Mr. Seagrave was
not only gloomy, but morose. The hour for retiring to rest had long
passed when Ready broke the silence by saying, "Surely, you do not
intend to sit up all night, Mr. Seagrave?"

"Oh, no! there's no use sitting up now," replied Mr. Seagrave, rising
up impatiently. "Come, my dear, let us go to bed."

Mrs. Seagrave rose, and retired behind the canvas screen. Her husband
seemed 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 to
notice 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 and
discontent I had forgotten--"

"Yes, sir, you had forgotten those words, `Come unto me, all ye who are
weary 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 had
closed the book, "good night" were all the words that passed, and they
all retired to rest.

During the night, the wind howled and the rain beat down. The children
slept soundly, but Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave, Ready, and William were awake
during the whole of the night, listening to the storm, and occupied
with their own thoughts.

Ready was dressed before daylight, and out on the beach before the sun
had risen. The gale was at its height; and after a careful survey with
his telescope, he could see nothing of the vessel. He remained on the
beach till breakfast-time, when he was summoned by William, and
returned to the house. He found Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave up, and more
composed than they were the evening before; and they welcomed him
warmly.

"I fear, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave, "that you have no good news for
us."

"No, sir; nor can you expect any good news until after the gale is
over. The vessel could not remain here during the gale - that is
certain; 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 she
may be obliged to scud before the gale, and run some hundred miles from
us. 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 not
find it necessary to run for the port she is bound to, or water at some
other place. A captain of a vessel is bound to do his best for the
owners. At the same time I do think, that if she can with propriety
come 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 at
his own inconvenience."

"There is but poor comfort in all that," replied Mr. Seagrave.

"It is useless holding out false hopes, sir," replied Ready; "but even
if 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, and
probably we never should have been searched for; but now we have made
it 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 the
intelligence to your friends. Is not that a great deal to be thankful
for? We may not be taken off by this vessel, but we have every hope
that another will be sent out to us."

"Very true, Ready; I ought to have seen that before; but my despair and
disappointment were yesterday so great, that it almost took away my
reason."

The gale continued during the day, and showed no symptoms of abatement,
when they again retired for the night. The following day Ready was up
early, 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 have
no 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 should
change to the northward or westward."

"Ready! Ready!" exclaimed William, pointing to the south-east part of
the reef; "what is that? Look! it's a boat."

Ready put his telescope to his eye. "It's a canoe, William, and there
are 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 canoe
was 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! they
struggle hard for their lives, and seem much exhausted; but they have
passed through the most dangerous part of the reef."

"Yes," replied William, "they will soon be in smoother water; but the
surf on the beach is very heavy."

"They won't mind that, if their strength don't fail them - they manage
the canoe beautifully."

During this conversation the canoe had rapidly co