and on them he fixed a staging of planks, which served for a
bridge. They could thus get away to the northern shore without crossing
the ford, which led them a couple of miles out of their road.

But if Godfrey took all these precautions so as to make existence a
little more possible on this lone isle of the Pacific, in case he and
his companion were destined to live on it for some time, or perhaps live
on it for ever, he had no intention of neglecting in any way the chances
of rescue.

Phina Island was not on the routes taken by the ships--that was only too
evident. It offered no port of call, nor means of revictualling. There
was nothing to encourage ships to take notice of it. At the same time
it was not impossible that a war-ship or a merchant-vessel might come in
sight. It was advisable therefore to find some way of attracting
attention, and showing that the island was inhabited.

With this object Godfrey erected a flagstaff at the end of the cape
which ran out to the north, and for a flag he sacrificed a piece of one
of the cloths found in the trunk. As he thought that the white colour
would only be visible in a strong light, he tried to stain his flag with
the berries of a sort of shrub which grew at the foot of the dunes. He
obtained a very vivid red, which he could not make indelible owing to
his having no mordant, but he could easily re-dye the cloth when the
wind or rain had faded it.

These varied employments occupied him up to the 15th of August. For many
weeks the sky had been constantly clear, with the exception of two or
three storms of extreme violence which had brought down a large quantity
of water, to be greedily drunk in by the soil.

About this time Godfrey began his shooting expeditions. But if he was
skilful enough in the use of the gun, he could not reckon on Tartlet,
who had yet to fire his first shot.

Many days of the week did Godfrey devote to the pursuit of fur and
feather, which, without being abundant, were yet plentiful enough for
the requirements of Will Tree.

A few partridges, some of the red-legged variety, and a few snipes, came
as a welcome variation of the bill of fare. Two or three antelopes fell
to the prowess of the young stalker; and although he had had nothing to
do with their capture, the professor gave them a no less welcome than he
did when they appeared as haunches and cutlets.

But while he was out shooting, Godfrey did not forget to take a more
complete survey