actly 32 dozen in
the case.

But counting them over one by one was no labour, on the contrary, it
afforded pleasure to me; and drawing them forth out of the box, I told
them off in dozens. I found that 32 dozen was the number, wanting
eight; but the odd eight I was able to account for satisfactorily. I
knew where _they_ had gone.

Thirty-two dozen would make 384 biscuits; and, now that I had eaten
eight of them, there remained exactly 376; which, at the rate of two per
diem, would last for 188 days. True, 188 days would be a little over
six months, but as I had not a clear confidence about the length of the
voyage being only six months, I perceived that I must go on short
rations, of less than two biscuits a day.

What, thought I, if there should be another box of biscuits behind the
one I had emptied? That would secure me against all chances, and make
my mind easy at once and for ever. What if there should be another?
Was it unlikely? No: the reverse. In the stowage of a ship's hold,
there is not much order observed as regards the sort of goods that are
placed in juxta-position, but rather is regard paid to the size and
shape of the packages; and things of a miscellaneous kind are often
stowed together, according to convenience, as the particular piece--
whether box, bale, or barrel--may fit into a particular space.
Notwithstanding that I knew all this, still it was probable enough that
two boxes of biscuits had been placed side by side.

How was I to ascertain? I could not get round the box, even now that I
had emptied it; for, as already stated, it blocked up the whole aperture
through which I had originally squeezed myself. Neither could I get
over the top nor under it.

"Ha!" I exclaimed, as a thought suddenly suggested itself, "I shall go
_through_ it."

The idea was feasible enough. The board which I had already pulled off,
left an aperture wide enough to admit my body. This had been part of
the top or lid. I could, therefore, get my head and shoulders inside,
and with my knife cut a large hole in the bottom opposite. That would
enable me to ascertain whether another biscuit-box was beyond.

I was not slow in putting my new design into execution. I first widened
a little more the aperture in the top, so that I could work more
conveniently; and then I attacked the bottom with my knife. The soft
deal yielded pretty freely, but I had not made much progress in this
way, when a better plan cam