ndeed, who were
left upon the island, excepting some dozen or fourteen, most of whom
were employed in providing for the daily wants of the others, such as in
baking bread, cleaning out the huts, airing bedding, and so on--and the
scene at the mouth of the harbour was therefore a tolerably busy one.

Captain Staunton was in charge of the ship-building operations, with Kit
as foreman-in-chief, while Rex and Brook were superintending operations
at the battery; the former, with a roll of rough-and-ready drawings in
his hand, "setting out" the work, while the latter overlooked the
construction of a lime-kiln. Bob was making himself generally useful.

It was while all hands were at their busiest that Lance put in an
appearance, leading little May by the hand. She of course at once made
a dash at her father, flinging her tiny arms round his neck, kissing and
hugging him vigorously, and showing in a hundred childish ways her
delight at being with him; and the unwonted sight of the pretty little
creature created quite a temporary sensation. A large majority of the
men there were steeped to the lips in crime, yet there were very few
among them who had not still left in them--hidden far down in the
innermost recesses of their nature, and crushed almost out of existence
by a load of vice and evil-doing, it may be--some remnant of the better
feelings of humanity; and their features brightened and softened visibly
as they witnessed the delight of this baby girl at finding herself with
her father, and looked at her happy innocent face. Her visit was like a
ray of sunshine falling upon them from out the bosom of a murky and
storm-laden sky; and as she flitted fearlessly to and fro among them,
they felt for the moment as though a part of their load of guilt had
been taken from them; that in some subtle way her proximity had
exercised a purifying and refining influence upon them, and that they
were no longer the utterly vile, God-forsaken wretches they had been.
Fierce, crime-scarred faces lighted up with unwonted smiles as she
approached them; and hands that had been again and again soaked in human
blood were outstretched to warn or remove her from the vicinity of
possible danger. For the first few minutes Captain Staunton had been
anxious and apprehensive at her unexpected presence among the ruffianly
band; but his face cleared, and his knitted brow relaxed as he saw the
effect which the sight of her produced, and when Lance joine