d on the summit of the islet and saw the wide
ocean surrounding him, like a vast sparkling plain, its myriad wavelets
reflecting now the dazzling sun, now the azure vault, the commingling
yellow and blue of which resulted in a lovely transparent green, save
where a few puffs of wind swept over the great expanse and streaked it
with lines of darkest blue.

"Truly," murmured Sam, as he gazed in admiration at the glorious expanse
of sea and sky, "Robin is right when he says that we are not half
sufficiently impressed with the goodness of the Almighty in placing us
in the midst of such a splendid world, with capacity to appreciate and
enjoy it to the full. I begin to fear that I am a more ungrateful
fellow than I've been used to think."

For some time he continued to gaze in silence as if that thought were
working.

From his elevated position he could now see that the islet was not quite
so barren as at first he had been led to suppose. Several little
valleys and cup-like hollows lay nestling among the otherwise barren
hills, like lovely gems in a rough setting. Those, he now perceived,
must have been invisible from the sea, and the rugged, almost
perpendicular, cliffs in their neighbourhood had apparently prevented
men from landing and discovering their existence. One of the valleys,
in particular, was not only larger than the others, but exceptionally
rich in vegetation, besides having a miniature lake, like a diamond, in
its bosom.

Descending the hill and returning to the cave, Sam found his comrades
still asleep. Letta was assisting old Meerta in the preparation of a
substantial breakfast that would not have done discredit to a
first-class hotel.

"Oh, I'm so glad you've come!" said Letta, running up, to him and giving
him both hands to shake, and a ready little mouth to kiss, "for I didn't
like to awaken your friends, and the sailor one looks so still that I
fear he may be dying. I saw one of the naughty men die here, and he
looked just like that."

Somewhat alarmed by this, Sam went at once to the sailor and looked
earnestly at him.

"No fear, Letta," he said, "the poor fellow is not dying; he is only in
a very profound sleep, having been much exhausted and nearly killed
yesterday. Hallo, Robin! awake at last?"

Robin, who had been roused by the voices, rubbed his eyes, yawned
vociferously, and looked vacantly round.

"Well, now, that's most extraordinary; it isn't a dream after all!"

"It's an u