ht of much that we forgot," remarked Eric with
considerable satisfaction. "I don't think our groceries included
preserved peaches and tinned oysters, Fritz; yet, here they are!"

"You don't say so--the kind old fellow!" exclaimed Fritz; and then he,
too, set to work examining the stores as eagerly as his brother.

Before leaving Providence, the two had purchased a couple of spades and
shovels, an American axe, a pick, a rake, a wheelbarrow, and a hoe for
agricultural purposes--the skipper having told them that the soil would
be fertile enough in the summer at Inaccessible Island for them to plant
most sorts of kitchen produce, which they would find of great help in
eking out the salted provisions they took from the ship, besides being
better for their health; while, to give emphasis to his advice, he
presented them with a plentiful stock of potatoes to put into the
ground, besides garden seed.

For cooking, the brothers were provided with a large kettle and frying
pan, a couple of saucepans, several knives and forks, some crockery,
and, in addition, a large iron cauldron for melting down seal blubber;
for hunting purposes, to complete the list of their gear, they had two
harpoons, a supply of fishing hooks and a grapnel, two Remington
rifles--besides Fritz's needle-gun which he had used in the first part
of the Franco-German war, before he became an officer and was entitled
to carry a sword--a supply of cartridges, five pounds of loose powder,
lead for making bullets, and a mould.

Among their weapons, also, was an old muzzle-loading fowling piece for
which shot had been taken, Fritz thinking that it might come in handy
for shooting birds--although, as he subsequently found out, all of the
feathered tribe they saw were penguins, and these did not require any
expenditure of powder and shot on their behalf, being easily knocked
down with a stick.

Nor did they forget to bring with them three or four strong sheath
knives, for skinning the seals and any other use for which they were
applicable; and, to add to their stock of cutlery implements, the
skipper had presented Fritz with a serviceable bowie knife, whose broad
double-dagger-like blade was powerful enough to cut down a tree on an
emergency or make mince-meat of an enemy!

Fritz had likewise purchased in Rhode Island a good stock of winter
clothing for himself and Eric, a couple of thick blanket rugs, and two
empty bed-tick covers--to be afterwards filled with