no reply, he was indeed too weary to speak. Charley even now,
as he watched over him, felt far from sure that he would ultimately
recover, he was so thin and wan, and when he slept he looked more like a
dead person than one alive.

Two or three anxious hours passed away, and every moment, as Charley
watched the poor lad, he dreaded to see him heave his last sigh; but the
food he had swallowed began to take effect permanently on his system--a
slight colour spread slowly over his cheeks, his breathing became more
regular, and when he awoke there was a brightness in his eye and a
cheerfulness in his voice which Charley had not before observed. He
wished that they could remain some days longer on the island, that Jack
might regain more strength before going on board; but the weather was
uncertain, and a gale might spring up and drive the schooner off, or
perhaps wreck her; and, besides this, Jack entreated that he might be
taken on board, and that no time might be lost in commencing their
homeward voyage.

Hugh Owen was feeling somewhat anxious at the long delay of the boat,
and was standing close in shore with the schooner to look for her, when
she emerged from the passage through the reefs. His delight at seeing
Jack was very great, and he declared that he could scarcely believe his
senses when he found that what they had been so long talking about had
really come true. By standing to the south they should be able to touch
at one of the Harvey or Society Island groups, where they were certain
of a hospitable reception, and of obtaining such provisions as they
might require.

To refit the schooner properly, and to obtain stores for their long
voyage home, it would be necessary to touch at Valparaiso, or some other
port on the coast of Chili. It was a satisfaction to feel that wherever
they touched among the groups of islands which have been mentioned, they
would find civilised men and Christians ready to welcome them as
friends, instead of as formerly savages, who would have taken every
opportunity of murdering them and plundering their vessel. Still, as
the noble-hearted Elton observed, as they looked over the chart of the
Pacific and noted the numberless islands which dotted it in often
thick-clustering groups, there must still exist a great deal of work to
be done, and that he trusted to be able to engage in doing it.

Some days passed before Jack was able to speak much, and even then not
beyond a whisper, or