rved the doctor, looking into
the pot; "we must be economical in the use of our provisions."

"Neber fear, massa," answered Peter; "dey all come back in good time.
Dey smell dis at de oder end ob de island."

Peter was right in his conjectures. Just as he was about to serve out
the stew, Jerry and his companions made their appearance. They reported
that they had hauled up several good-sized pieces of wreck, three casks
of oil, a barrel of flour, and two of beef or pork.

"Very good," observed the doctor; "we shall not run short of provisions;
but I should have been glad to hear that you had found a case or two
containing lime-juice. We must look out for vegetables of some sort, or
we may not keep scurvy at bay."

"Shure, doesn't this island grow taters?" asked Tim.

"I'm afraid not," answered the doctor.

"Thin it must be a poor place, and I'll not wish to spend the remainder
of me days here," answered Tim, with one of his inimitable grimaces.

"Though there are not potatoes, there may be roots of some sort, and we
have not yet examined all the cases which we brought out of the cabin.
If I recollect rightly, some seeds were sent on board before we sailed,
though fortunately we had no opportunity of making use of them,"
observed the doctor.

A search was at once instituted, and the box the doctor spoke of
discovered; it contained cabbage, lettuce, onion, carrot, turnip, and
several other kinds of seeds.

"The onions, in our case, will prove the most valuable, as they will
have grown to some size before the vessel has been completed, and we can
carry them to sea with us. They are the most certain specific against
scurvy," said the doctor.

These remarks were made while the officers and men sat together at
breakfast. They were all in good spirits, thankful that they were so
well supplied with everything they could possibly require. Had it not
been for the doctor, however, how different would have been their
condition! In a day or two they would have been suffering all the
horrors of thirst, and must ultimately have perished miserably, but now
they could obtain as much fresh water as they could require for drinking
and cooking.

"One thing, however, we must remember, that our provisions will in time
come to an end," observed Tom. "We must use the most perishable first
and keep the best preserved for our voyage."

"But we shall be able to catch fish, and we need not go on short
commons, I hope," said B