on the sand and, commending himself and his dear ones to the care of his
Maker, stretched himself out by the side of the fire, and was soon
wrapped in a dreamless sleep which lasted until morning.

He was awakened by a sound so homely and familiar to his ears, that when
he first started up he almost believed that the experiences of the past
few months could have been nothing more than an unusually vivid and
circumstantial dream, and that he should find himself a tenant of some
pleasant English farm-house. The sound--which was the crowing of a
cock--was repeated, and answered from the woods at a distance of perhaps
half a mile, and again answered by another shrill crowing nearer at
hand, but in a different direction. He was astounded. What could be
the meaning of the presence of domestic fowls on this lonely island? He
started to his feet and set off, determined to investigate. The crowing
was repeated often enough to serve him as an effective guide in his
search, and proceeding cautiously he at length found himself quite close
to the spot from whence the sounds apparently proceeded. Still
advancing cautiously he presently heard not only the crowing of a cock
but the loud triumphant clucking with which a hen proclaims to an
admiring world the fact that she has laid an egg. A little further away
he heard, in addition to these sounds, the softer cluck with which a
parent hen calls to her chickens; and presently, peering out from behind
the bole of an enormous teak-tree, he saw not only chanticleer but also
his harem, consisting of half a dozen hens, two of which had broods of
fluffy-looking chickens running at their heels. This was a most
delightful surprise to Gaunt; for though the island seemed to promise
that he and his party would never be likely to want for the means of
sustaining life, here was a supply of food which, carefully looked
after, would be the means of affording them many a dainty dish. The
fresh morning air had again sharpened the solitary man's appetite, which
now admonished him that it was high time to think seriously about
breakfast, and the loud continued clucking of the hen which had laid an
egg reminded him that fresh eggs were very good for breakfast. His
first intention was to confiscate that egg; but a moment's reflection
showed him that if left alone it might eventually become a chicken, and
thus considerably increase in value. He therefore decided to forego the
gratification of fresh