the cotton waste, the bradawl and wire with the
rest of the stores, far back in the cave, and then, following her, they
lumbered along down the beach in the direction of the cliff break like
two schoolboys after a governess.

The cliff break was a narrow gully piercing the basalt and bending upon
itself; here they parted, the men striking up the gulley and the girl
continuing her way along the beach.

"And be sure to look out for some wood," she cried after them, "any sort
of wood."

"Ay, ay," said Bompard, "we'll be on the look out right enough."

Then they vanished and she pursued her way alone, picking up things as
she went, turning over shells and thinking of her companions.

The wind had fanned up again to a strong breeze but the sound of the
surf had fallen with the receding tide and the stretch of wet sand
below high tide mark was strewn with huge kelp ribbons, masses of
seaweed, shells, all empty, cuttle fish bones and the star-fish
despised of La Touche.

Then she came upon something that gave her a grue, it seemed at first
like a white rock, it was a skull. The skull of some enormous creature
half-bedded in the sand just above the tide mark, possibly cast up in
some storm. She thought it might be the skull of a whale and as she
stood looking at it, suddenly, the desolation around came in upon her
with the fact that she was absolutely alone.

Suppose the men lost their way--suppose that they never came back? The
thought clutched her heart like a hand. To be here, alone, absolutely
alone, forever!

For a moment panic seized her and the wild impulse came upon her to turn
and run back to the cave. Then she mastered herself, fighting down the
surging in her throat, and continuing her way steadily and with renewed
strength. She had not cast the thought away, she had mastered it and as
she went she contemplated it as a victor contemplates the dead body of
an assailant.

Then she saw the penguins, she had not noticed them before, they were
drawn up in long lines at the base of the cliff and the sight of them
destroyed the desolation just as the skull had crystallized it around
her.

A great pow-wow was going on amongst the penguins. Three birds,
separate from the others, were standing, two facing one another bowing
and discussing something, the third standing by, putting in a word now
and then and now and then coming right between the disputants.

She watched them for awhile and then went on. She had no