scertained, as
they imagined, that the spot was devoid of living creature, they were on
the point of returning to their boat, when their attention was arrested
by a faint bleating, and immediately afterwards a solitary she-goat came
bounding towards the shore. The creature had dark, almost black hair,
and small curved horns, and was a specimen of that domestic breed which,
with considerable justice, has gained for itself the title of "the poor
man's cow." So far from being alarmed at the presence of strangers, the
goat ran nimbly towards them, and then, by its movements and plaintive
cries, seemed to be enticing them to follow it.

"Come," said Servadac; "let us see where it will lead us; it is more
than probable it is not alone."

The count agreed; and the animal, as if comprehending what was said,
trotted on gently for about a hundred paces, and stopped in front of a
kind of cave or burrow that was half concealed by a grove of lentisks.
Here a little girl, seven or eight years of age, with rich brown hair
and lustrous dark eyes, beautiful as one of Murillo's angels, was
peeping shyly through the branches. Apparently discovering nothing
in the aspect of the strangers to excite her apprehensions, the child
suddenly gained confidence, darted forwards with outstretched hands, and
in a voice, soft and melodious as the language which she spoke, said in
Italian:

"I like you; you will not hurt me, will you?"

"Hurt you, my child?" answered Servadac. "No, indeed; we will be your
friends; we will take care of you."

And after a few moments' scrutiny of the pretty maiden, he added:

"Tell us your name, little one."

"Nina!" was the child's reply.

"Well, then, Nina, can you tell us where we are?"

"At Madalena, I think," said the little girl; "at least, I know I was
there when that dreadful shock came and altered everything."

The count knew that Madalena was close to Caprera, to the north of
Sardinia, which had entirely disappeared in the disaster. By dint of a
series of questions, he gained from the child a very intelligent account
of her experiences. She told him that she had no parents, and had been
employed in taking care of a flock of goats belonging to one of the
landowners, when one day, all of a sudden, everything around her, except
this little piece of land, had been swallowed up, and that she and
Marzy, her pet goat, had been left quite alone. She went on to say that
at first she had been very frightened;