e summit of
the high mountain, which we once more ascended at a different point from
our first ascent, were found abundance of shells and broken coral
formations, which Jack and I agreed proved either that this island must
have once been under the sea, or that the sea must once have been above
the island. In other words, that as shells and coral could not possibly
climb to the mountain top, they must have been washed upon it while the
mountain top was on a level with the sea. We pondered this very much;
and we put to ourselves the question, "What raised the island to its
present height above the sea?" But to this we could by no means give to
ourselves a satisfactory reply. Jack thought it might have been blown up
by a volcano; and Peterkin said he thought it must have jumped up of its
own accord! We also noticed, what had escaped us before, that the solid
rocks of which the island was formed were quite different from the live
coral rocks on the shore, where the wonderful little insects were
continually working. They seemed, indeed, to be of the sauce material,--a
substance like limestone; but, while the coral rocks were quite full of
minute cells in which the insects lived, the other rocks inland were hard
and solid, without the appearance of cells at all. Our thoughts and
conversations on this subject were sometimes so profound that Peterkin
said we should certainly get drowned in them at last, even although we
were such good divers! Nevertheless we did not allow his pleasantry on
this and similar points to deter us from making our notes and
observations as we went along.

We found several more droves of hogs in the woods, but abstained from
killing any of them, having more than sufficient for our present
necessities. We saw also many of their foot-prints in this
neighbourhood. Among these we also observed the footprints of a smaller
animal, which we examined with much care, but could form no certain
opinion as to them. Peterkin thought they were those of a little dog,
but Jack and I thought differently. We became very curious on this
matter, the more so that we observed these foot-prints to lie scattered
about in one locality, as if the animal which had made them was wandering
round about in a very irregular manner, and without any object in view.
Early in the forenoon of our third day we observed these footprints to be
much more numerous than ever, and in one particular spot they diverged
off into the woo