r during his last voyage to the
Pacific.

At first we thought that there were no inhabitants, but just as we were
shoving off we heard a shout, and a white man and negro were seen
rushing down towards us, shouting and gesticulating furiously.

They were both dressed in skins, with high fur caps, and had long sticks
in their hands to help themselves as they ran.

"Why, I do believe that must be Robinson Crusoe and his man Friday,"
cried Horner, at which all hands laughed.

"He got home long ago, or he never could have written his history,
stupid," said the mate, "but whoever they are we'll wait for them."

Still Horner had not got his first idea out of his head. He had not
read much, but he had read Robinson Crusoe, and believed in it as a
veracious history.

The strangers soon reached the boat.

"Now, I say, ain't you Robinson Crusoe?" cried Horner, as the white man
got up to the boat.

"No, my name is Miles Soper, and I know nothing of the chap you speak
of," answered the stranger.

"I say, mister," he continued, turning to the mate, "will you take us
poor fellows off? We were cast ashore some six months ago or more, and
are the only people out of our ship, which went down off there, who
saved their lives, as far as I can tell. Sam Cole here and I came
ashore on a bit of a raft, and we have had a hard time of it since
then."

"Why, as to that, my man, if you're willing to enter and serve aboard
our ship, I daresay the captain will take you, but he doesn't want
idlers."

"Beggars can't be choosers," answered Miles Soper. "If you are willing
to take us we shall be glad to go, and both Sam and I are able seamen."

"Well, jump in, my lads," said the mate; "but haven't you anything at
the place where you have lived so long to bring away?"

"No, we've nothing but the clothes we stand up in, except it may be a
few wooden bowls and such like things," answered the stranger, who
looked hard at the mate as he spoke, probably suspecting that we might
pull off, and that he and his chum might be left behind. Both the men
seemed in tolerably good condition. They told us that they had had
abundance of goat's flesh and vegetables, as well as fruit, but that
they had got tired of the life, and had had a quarrel with four mongrel
Spaniards, who lived on another part of the island, whom they thought
might some day try to murder them.

They both asked to take an oar, and, by the way they pulled, they showed
that th