ey, for though
he was burning to learn if the sufferer was Jack Askew, he saw that he
was in so weak a state from famine and sickness that any agitation might
prove fatal. Suppressing therefore his curiosity, his great wish was to
get him on board the _Good Hope_, where such food as was best fitted for
his weak state could be procured. Still it seemed very important to
give him some hot food before an attempt was made to remove him.

"I will manage it," exclaimed Elton, producing a calabash. "Let us get
a fire lighted first, and see if any shell-fish or crabs, or perhaps
even a young turtle may be found; I will make some soup, and though it
may be blackish, it will not be the less wholesome."

As soon as the fire was lighted, while the men went to search for the
fish, Elton collected a number of clean rounded stones from the beach
and placed them in the midst of it. He then half-filled the calabash
with water, into which, by means of a cleft stick which served the
purpose of tongs, he put the red hot stones, and quickly made the water
boil. By the time this was done the men returned with a very
respectable sized turtle, which they had caught in a pool, into which he
had been unwittingly washed. Some strips were immediately cut off him
and put into the boiling pot. As soon as their goodness was supposed to
be extracted, they and the stones were taken out with the cleft stick,
and hotter stones and fresh strips put in. In a very short time a thick
and nutritious soup was formed, which, though it would have been
improved with salt, pepper, lemon, and a few other condiments, was well
calculated to restore the vital energies, aided with small doses of
brandy-and-water. Such, at all events, were the only means that Charley
and Elton could think of for giving the sufferer the strength he
required. Whether or not the turtle soup would have served the purpose
without the spirit, or the spirit without the soup, it may be difficult
to determine; at all events, the two combined had a most beneficial
effect.

In the course of two or three hours he was able to sit up of his own
accord, and then, gazing earnestly at those surrounding him, he asked,
"What made you come to look for me? I have watched several ships pass,
but no one saw me; no one thought that on this little island there was a
human being longing to be at home with his friends, who must have long
thought him dead, perhaps forgotten him altogether."

Charley