n shone brightly, the downpour had ceased,
and they rejoiced in the beautiful scenery around them, even though
they were shipwrecked and on a strange island.

"We must build a more substantial shelter than the tent," Captain
Spark decided that morning. "We may have to stay here for several
months, and the tent is not large enough. Besides, we must keep
our supplies dry."

They decided to make a small log cabin, and, with this end in view,
Bob, the two sailors, and Mr. Carr set off into the woods to hew
down trees for this purpose.

Captain Spark and Mr. Tarbill remained behind to get the camp in
better shape after the storm. The commander also wished to take a
sun observation that noon and work out the position of the island,

As Bob and his three companions were going through the wood, they
were surprised to see several birds of brilliant plumage. Some of
them sang sweetly.

"That's a good sign!" exclaimed Mr. Carr.

"Why?" asked Bob.

"Because if there are birds on this small island, it shows that
there must be a larger island not far away. Birds of this kind
live in large forests, and as there are none here, on account of
the size of this island, that shows they must come from some other
one, or from the mainland."

"I hope you're right," said Bob. "We might be able to get to some
other island in the gig, and then we would stand a better chance of
being rescued."

When the little party got back to camp, carrying a number of poles
for the beginning of the hut, they found Captain Spark preparing to
take an observation, as it was nearly noon. He asked Mr. Carr to
assist him.

In a few minutes, after taking the altitude of the sun through the
sextant and working out a calculation from his table of figures,
the captain was able to announce the result, giving the latitude
and longitude of the island.

"Why," exclaimed Bob, "that is about the location of the island
shown on the parchment map that Captain Obed gave me."

"So it is!" cried the captain. "Where is the map, Bob?"

"Lost overboard with the rest of my things, I suppose, when the
boat capsized," was the rueful answer.

"That's so. Now we'll never know whether there was any treasure or
not. However, there's no use worrying about that. The best news
is that we are not far off from a very large island, at which ships
frequently touch for water and provisions."

"Good!" cried Mr. Carr. "About how far off, captain?"

"Not more than two