stream than South River, and it was on
the northern side of the island; whereas South River was on the
southerly side of the island. Less than a quarter of a mile from the
open sea was a cataract, at which their home was located, and the
cataract was utilized as the means for producing water power.

Their appearance below the Cataract was hailed with delight by the
Professor, and you may be sure that when the boat was finally landed and
hauled up on the beach, all of them joined in the congratulations, which
was their due.

"Just to think of it. If we had the boat we made, our lifeboat and all
the parts of the wreck of the other boat, we would have a pretty
respectable navy," was Harry's observation, when they landed. As it was,
they now had the wrecked after part of their own lifeboat, and here was
the other lying alongside. They knew the history of one of them. Would
they soon know why the other should have been found in the interior of
the island under such peculiar circumstances?

"And where did you get the yoke?" asked the Professor, as his eye caught
sight of it.

"Two miles this side of the falls."

They little knew at this time what an important bearing the finding of
this boat would have on their future course, nor could they know how
this little incident would be of the greatest value to some of their
companions on the ill-fated ship.

They now had possession of a boat which, while it was practically
unsinkable, was not of such size as to meet their demands for the
intended explorations. They felt that to attempt to circumnavigate the
island and take all the chances which a meeting with natives might
involve, would necessitate a much larger vessel. To add to the
difficulty, all the pistols but one had been lost in the last trip, and
to attempt to make explorations without proper weapons would be
foolhardy. If they knew one thing, with any degree of certainty, it was
that the island contained savages of some description, and provision
must be made for every contingency.

Harry took upon himself the task of turning out more of the weapons, and
with the experience of the past four months in this line of work,
concluded he would attempt a better job than simply making pistols. It
was his ambition to make a firearm that would enable them to bag the
largest game, and also, at the same time, carry the bullets a greater
distance than the short eight-inch barrels could.

To do this it was necessary to provid