e comes back."

Bostock chuckled and shook his head.

"I'd a deal rather we'd kep' together, sir," he said; "but I dessay he
knows best. So we've got to wait six hours--six hours' watch, and we
mustn't go very far away. Well, it's a very pretty place, and the
sand's soft, and I mean to have some of them cocoanuts by-and-by."

"How are you going to get at them?" said Carey, looking up at the trees.
"I suppose I mustn't try to climb one."

"Not likely."

"Well, I don't believe you could."

"Dunno," said the old fellow. "I'm thinking I can if I uses a sort o'
stirrup."

"What's that?"

"I'll show you bime-by. Well, what shall we do?"

"I'm going to get out on one of those coral rocks and have a good look
at the pools of water and the things in them. Perhaps collect some
shells."

"Why not?" said Bostock. "I've got the bucket yonder, and one of the
axes. We might collect a lot to take on board, and the oysters'll do
for soup."

"Oh, you mean the pearl shells."

"Yes; didn't you, sir?"

"No, I meant any kind: but let's try for some of those big shells and
open them. We may find some pearls."

"That's right, Master Carey, and when you're tired o' that look here."

He gave the boy a knowing look, and took a roll of long stout line out
of one pocket, a leaden weight and a cork stuck full of fish-hooks out
of the other.

"Fishing-tackle," cried Carey, eagerly.

"That's right. When we've got some oysters for bait we'll get out on
the raft again, shove her off to the end of that bit of a canal, and try
after a fish."

"Oh, we're not going to be dull," cried Carey, eagerly.

"Dull, not us; why, it'll be six hours before we know where we are.
Come on."

The old sailor went back to the nearest spot to the raft, carefully
examined the rope, which was fastened round a block of coral, and then
waded out to the rough construction and returned with the bucket and a
small axe.

"Now then," he said; "you keep here where it's dry, and I'll go and see
what I can find."

He had little seeking to do, merely to wade amongst the fragments of
coral and pick up pair after pair of the great molluscs, which he had no
difficulty in detaching; and before long he had a score, which he
carried to a spot on the rock which seemed suitable.

"You feel what a weight they are," he said, and Carey took up a couple
which were about the size of pudding plates.

"They are heavy," cried Carey. "Why, you could soon collec