last portion of our journey so late at night. We'll carry our
belongings up the shore a bit, and then camp."

The crooked necks of the water gourds afforded a good handle by which to
carry them, and, each taking a portion of their sadly depleted outfit,
the little party followed the leader about a hundred yards from the
place at which they had landed, to where the huge rocks gave promise of
a partial shelter.

Now the time had come when both food and water must be husbanded with
care, and instead of setting out the entire amount for each to
thoroughly satisfy himself, Cummings divided so much as he thought would
be sufficient for the meal, giving every one an equal share.

"It is to be short rations for awhile," he said cheerfully. "That will
be better than to fill ourselves up now, and suffer afterward."

No one could take any exception to this very reasonable precaution, and
the meal was eaten in the merriest possible fashion.

Then there was nothing to do but wait until morning, when the march was
to be resumed, and Neal and Teddy occupied their time speculating as to
what the loved ones at home were doing just at that particular moment.

It was not a remarkably pleasant thing to do, considering how great a
distance separated them, and when they grew weary of thus making
themselves mentally uncomfortable, Teddy asked:

"How long do you suppose it will take us to reach Progresso?"

"I hope to be there in about a week."

"And you feel positive there is no chance of hailing a vessel?"

"Just a chance: nothing more. The possibilities are so slight that it
wouldn't pay to spend any time waiting for a craft to heave in sight."

"What would you do if one should come along to-morrow morning?"

"Try to attract the attention of those on board, of course; but there'll
be no such good fortune as that, so the best thing we can do is to lie
down now, for we have a hard day's work before us."

CHAPTER XXXII.

A HAPPY SURPRISE.

The monotonous roar of the surf should have lulled the boys to sleep
very shortly after they lay down on the sand where a number of boulders
formed a partial shelter; but instead of doing so it appeared to have
the opposite effect.

For a long while after Cummings and Jake were wrapped in slumber they
talked of the journey which lay before them, and speculated with heavy
hearts as to the fate of those who had left the burning yacht in their
company.

This was a topic of conversati