fire, and
we all gathered round it to cook some more fish and dry our damp
clothes. We were in good spirits, for we knew that the gale would blow
itself out in a short time, and we expected that the ship would then
come and take us off.

As soon as I proposed to Jim to explore the island, he at once agreed to
accompany me. The doctor and Miles Soper also said that they would go.
The latter carried one of the muskets, which the mate said we might
take, and the rest of us armed ourselves with long pointed sticks. The
mate thought we might as well go armed, for though the island had
hitherto been uninhabited, it was possible that some savages might have
been driven as far north in their double canoes, and might attack us if
they found we were unable to defend ourselves.

We took some cooked fish for provisions, and we hoped to find water as
we proceeded. We had first to make our way through a thick forest, of
what the doctor called tamana-trees--some of them being of gigantic
size. It was often so dark beneath their thick boughs that we could
with difficulty see our way; but we went on, guided by the doctor's
pocket-compass, in a straight line, until we at length got out of the
forest into more open country. He proposed going on till we reached a
hill which we saw some way off, and there to light a fire, that the
smoke might attract the attention of any one living on the island. He
carried out his plan, and collecting sticks as we neared the spot,
having brought tinder and matches, we quickly had a fire blazing. We
looked in vain, however, all round the island for an answering signal.

"Perhaps, if there is any one, he is down by the shore, and has no means
of striking a light," said the doctor; "or maybe he is still sheltering
himself from the storm."

As this seemed very likely, leaving the fire burning, we made our way
down to the beach on the farther side of the island.

The view from the hill on the north side showed us only rugged and
broken ground, and we therefore proceeded along the shore as close as we
could get towards the southern end. We saw plenty of birds, which would
have afforded us food if we had had time to stop and shoot them. It was
somewhat rough work, especially in the more exposed places against the
wind. At last we got back to the part we had started from, just as
night was falling. From every height we kept a look-out for the ship,
but she did not appear.

"You're convinced now