them not to land. We
stripped them of what we wanted and left them to wander the high seas
naked of adventure. And all this was merely the beginning.

By this time I had been cast upon the island. It was not my own
proposal, but David knew my wishes, and he made it all right for me with
Oliver. They found me among the breakers with a large dog, which had
kept me afloat throughout that terrible night. I was the sole survivor
of the ill-fated Anna Pink. So exhausted was I that they had to carry
me to their hut, and great was my gratitude when on opening my eyes, I
found myself in that romantic edifice instead of in Davy Jones's locker.
As we walked in the Gardens I told them of the hut they had built; and
they were inflated but not surprised. On the other hand they looked for
surprise from me.

"Did we tell you about the turtle we turned on its back?" asked Oliver,
reverting to deeds of theirs of which I had previously told them.

"You did."

"Who turned it?" demanded David, not as one who needed information but
after the manner of a schoolmaster.

"It was turned," I said, "by David A----, the younger of the two
youths."

"Who made the monkeys fling cocoa-nuts at him?" asked the older of the
two youths.

"Oliver Bailey," I replied.

"Was it Oliver," asked David sharply, "that found the cocoa-nut-tree
first?"

"On the contrary," I answered, "it was first observed by David,
who immediately climbed it, remarking, 'This is certainly the
cocos-nucifera, for, see, dear Oliver, the slender columns supporting
the crown of leaves which fall with a grace that no art can imitate.'"

"That's what I said," remarked David with a wave of his hand.

"I said things like that, too," Oliver insisted.

"No, you didn't then," said David.

"Yes, I did so."

"No, you didn't so."

"Shut up."

"Well, then, let's hear one you said."

Oliver looked appealingly at me. "The following," I announced, "is
one that Oliver said: 'Truly dear comrade, though the perils of these
happenings are great, and our privations calculated to break the
stoutest heart, yet to be rewarded by such fair sights I would endure
still greater trials and still rejoice even as the bird on yonder
bough.'"

"That's one I said!" crowed Oliver.

"I shot the bird," said David instantly.

"What bird?"

"The yonder bird."

"No, you didn't."

"Did I not shoot the bird?"

"It was David who shot the bird," I said, "but it was Oliver who saw
by its mul