bout me, you would
arrange some better accommodation for yourselves than you seem to think
of doing," she said. "I feel as if I was very selfish, in allowing you
to take all this trouble about me."

"You require to be more carefully attended to than we do," answered the
doctor. "You are more delicately constituted than we are, and though
your spirit might sustain you, you would suffer more from exposure than
we should."

The doctor's arguments quieted Alice's scruples; so a small hut was
formed for her, with a thick roof of palm-leaves tied down with the
vines they had before found so useful. The rest of the party formed
their sleeping-places of twigs and small boughs, which Walter declared
made as good beds as any sailors need require. By the time these
arrangements were finished supper was ready, and they sat down to their
repast with thoroughly good appetites.

"I am thankful that we came, though I was rather doubtful at first about
making the journey," observed the mate. "It has shown us that we are on
a small island; and also that, to a certainty, it is uninhabited, so
that we need not be compelled to proceed on our voyage till the
favourable season comes round. If we were to go to sea now we should
very likely encounter heavy gales, which would sorely try our little
craft, even though she might be enlarged and strengthened to the utmost
of our power. In the meantime, we shall have enough to do in preparing
provisions for the voyage, and we need have no fear of starving while we
remain."

"I thought that we were going to sail as soon as the boat could be got
ready," observed Alice in a tone of disappointment.

"So we will, Miss Alice," said the mate; "but it will take us many weeks
to get her ready, with the limited number of tools and the scanty
materials we possess. As we have no saw, we must split the planks; and
every plank will have to be brought down to the required thickness with
our single axe or our knives; and we shall have to cut out the ribs in
the same way. Patience and perseverance can alone enable us to overcome
the difficulties before us."

"Well, I am ready to do my best," said Walter; "and perhaps our raft may
be cast on shore, and that will help us."

While they were talking, the gloom of night was coming on; but the fire
cast a cheerful blaze, lighting up the trunks of the tall trees around
them, shedding a glare over the yellow sand, and tingeing the thin white
line of foam wh