nearly "done in" by the
sea.

Then he began to feed her with the noxious pap. He managed to get six
spoonfuls "into her" and then he saw she would stand no more; still,
that was something, and as he brooded on his heels watching her he saw
that she was making a struggle to keep it down, and he knew that if she
brought it up she was done for. And all the time she kept holding him
with her eyes as though he were helping her in the struggle.

He was. The sight of him gave her just the strength necessary to tide
over the danger point; then she lay still and the food, such as it was,
began to do its work.

One may say that the stomach thinks; every mood of the mind can touch it
and it can influence every mood of the mind.

Then the terrible fixed eyes began to grow more human, then to close
slightly. She was still far at sea, but no longer adrift; like a little
boat taken in tow she was heading now back for the shore. She fell
asleep holding his thumb.

The bits of wood she had chipped from the figure-head were lying in a
little heap near the cave mouth and the axe lay beside them. He noted
them as he sat motionless as a carved figure till the grip on his thumb
relaxed, and the dry claw-like hand, now growing moist and human, gave
up its hold.

Then, crawling out, stealthily and side-ways like a crab, he seized the
axe and, rising up outside, axe in hand, stood looking in at the woman.
He stood watching her, making sure that she was well asleep, then he
turned towards the seal nursery swinging the axe. There he murdered a
little girl sea elephant after a short, sharp chase over the rocks.
Then, close to the caves and with his sailor's knife, he stripped her of
fur and blubber. He placed the blubber on one side, cut up the meat and
retaining the heart and kidneys wrapped the head and the remainders in
the pelt and dumped them in a crack in the rocks.

Having done this he went to the river and washed his hands free of the
blood and grease.

In his bundle there was a box with half a dozen matches, they would have
been gone long ago only that long ago his tobacco had given out. They
were useful now.

He knelt down and undid the bundle. There was in it beside the match-box
a shirt rolled up, two sailors' knives, two tobacco boxes, a couple of
huge biscuits, a piece of sail cloth and a pair of men's boots, one
might have fancied from the knives and tobacco boxes that he was the
only survivor of a party of three cast o