ill that I thought we ought to go back; so we turned
our faces, as we fancied, towards the place we had come from.

We went on some way, and then I stopped Bill, and said, "Bill, I don't
think we are right; we are farther off than ever."

We looked about to find a hill to climb, to judge where we were, but the
trees were so thick that we could see none. One thing we saw, that the
sky was changed, and that clouds were passing quickly across it, and
that the tops of the trees were bending to a strong breeze.

"Bill," I said, "we ought to be back at the boats, for they'll be going
off; we shall taste the end of a rope if we keep them waiting."

"Never fear, we shall be in time enough," answered Bill. "Why be put
out? we can't help ourselves."

That was true enough, then, but I knew that we ought not to have come at
all.

We went on some way till we came to another house. The people in it
were very kind, but we couldn't make out what they said, and they
couldn't what we said, though we tried to let them know that we wanted
to find our way back to the boats. At last a young man seemed to
understand what we wanted, for he took us by the hand and led us on.

After some time we found that we were going up a hill, and when we got
to the top of it we could see the ocean. We looked, we rubbed our eyes;
a heavy sea was rolling in, and far away our ship was beating off shore.
For some time I could not speak a word.

At last I said, "Bill, I fear we are left ashore, unless one of the
boats has stopped for us."

"Very likely that we are left, Tom, but not at all likely that one of
the boats has stopped for us," he answered. "Worse if she has; for we
shall catch it soundly when we get on board. Take my advice, let us
keep out of the way and not go back at all. This is a pleasant country
to live in, much better than knocking about at sea."

"No, no, I'd rather get a dozen floggings than leave the ship, and not
go back to Old England and see poor mother and brothers, and sisters
again. Haven't you got a mother and brothers and sisters, Bill?"

"Yes, but they don't care for me," he answered.

"How do you know that?" I asked. "Depend on it, Bill, they love you,
and care for you, and may be this moment are praying that you may be
kept free from danger. Come, at all events, let us go back to where we
landed, if we can find the way."

Our new friend stood watching us while we were talking, and when we
pointed to the