urtle's eggs raw. "We
must try and find the means of lighting a fire," I observed. "Do you
think, Macco, you could produce a flame with two pieces of wood, as is
done in some countries?"

"Not so sure," he answered; "but if we had flint, I soon find pith to
set on fire."

From the character of the island, which appeared to be entirely
volcanic, I had no hope of finding flints. Just then it flashed across
me that a few days before I had been using a glass from my telescope as
a burning-glass, and I recollected putting it in my pocket on being
called off suddenly to attend to some duty; I had little hope, however,
of finding it unbroken. I put my hands into my trowsers pockets, and
then into my jacket pockets, but it was not there; neither was it in my
waistcoat pockets, but there was a hole in one of them, and after
feeling about, I found it had worked its way round into the corner of
the waistcoat by my side. It had thus escaped being broken, or
discovered by the Malays when they took away our money. I produced it
with great satisfaction. Macco ran off immediately, and came back with
some dried pith and a bundle of sticks. We soon produced a flame and
had a fire burning. Macco then made a collection of round stones, which
he put on the fire, at the same time filling one of the shells with
water. "Too much water," he observed, turning some of it out. He then
transferred the hot stones to the water, which began bubbling and
hissing as if it were boiling. "Put in the eggs," he observed; "soon
boil dem." We followed his advice, and in four or five minutes the eggs
were boiled thoroughly, quite as well as if they had been put into a pot
on the fire. We had now no danger of starving, for the present at all
events; and indeed, if we could manufacture the sago, we might supply
ourselves with food sufficient to last for any length of time.

The tide had, meantime, been going out, and here and there where the
rocks were exposed we caught sight of shell-fish. I, however, knowing
even in that climate the danger of sleeping entirely exposed to the
night air without a roof over the head, advised my companions at once to
set to work and build a hut. We accordingly went back to the sago-palm
grove, and cut down as many of the leaves as we could carry. With these
we returned to the beach, on the highest part of which, just under the
trees, we proposed putting up a temporary hut, till we could get a more
permanent bui