d, pending the completion of the house or "fort," as they seemed
inclined to style the proposed structure.

In accordance with this arrangement, immediately after breakfast next
morning the tents were struck and placed on board the raft, and the
ladies and children also embarked in her to proceed round to Fay Island
in charge of Captain Blyth and his two assistants; whilst Gaunt and
Henderson, armed with their repeating rifles and an axe each in their
belts, set out in company for the gap in the cliffs, their intention
being to proceed overland, and to separate at the head of the river,
each taking one of its banks with the object of ascertaining whether any
suitable quarry-site could be found in a situation convenient for the
shipment of stone on board the raft.

The quest occupied the two friends for the greater part of the day, they
arriving abreast the islet within half an hour of each other, and
reaching its friendly shores just in time to assist the working party
there in putting the finishing touches to quite a respectable
structure--half tent, half bower--for which the skipper had acted the
part of architect-in-chief. This structure had cost Captain Blyth a
vast amount of almost painful cogitation, and was the result of a little
fit of excusable, and perhaps natural pique, which had come over him on
finding how exceedingly well the two landsmen had managed without him.
From the moment of their being thrust out of the ship to that other
moment when he had rejoined them, they had scarcely been out of his
thoughts for an hour, and his commiseration for them--abandoned,
helpless, and deprived of the priceless advantage of his counsel and
experience--was dinned into the ears of young Manners to such a
wearisome extent that that officer, dutiful as he was, sometimes felt
inclined to wish he had been carried away like Ned by the mutineers,
instead of being accorded the privilege of the skipper's society. And
now, behold! all the anxiety and commiseration which had been felt for
them turned out to have been wasted, thrown away. The two quiet
undemonstrative men, whom the honest skipper, when ruefully meditating
upon their forlorn condition, had often likened to babes in arms, had
proved themselves to be fully equal to the situation in which they had
so unexpectedly found themselves, and had indeed managed so exceedingly
well that Captain Blyth found himself at a discount; and, whilst
heartily welcomed by them, was f