the
band up the tree, I was easily and quickly enabled to reach the fruit,
from which I selected an abundant supply.

Whilst thus engaged, Bob hove in sight, and when I reached the ground
again he reported that, having soon grown tired of doing nothing, he had
started away on a walk to the southward, about half an hour after we
left him, and had gone to the extreme end of the island; that he had
enjoyed his walk amazingly, was excessively tired, and, like ourselves,
had failed to find any fresh water.

Under these circumstances poor little Ella was compelled to postpone her
washing-day, I promising that she should have the necessary time allowed
her at the first suitable island we might reach.

By this time the dinner-hour was approaching, and Ella desired to be put
on board the cutter to make the few slight preparations for the meal
which were necessary.

As soon as we had put her on board, and whilst she was thus engaged, I
took Bob away with me in the boat to try for a few oysters. We had no
means of trawling for them; but I estimated that they lay in not more
than about two and a half fathoms of water, and I considered myself
quite diver enough to reach that distance.

As soon as we arrived at the spot, I stripped and plunged in, taking
down with me an old canvas clothes-bag, which I slung round my neck.

I soon found that I had been deceived, by the crystal transparency of
the water, into under-estimating the depth. It was fully four fathoms
to the bottom; and this, together with the difficulty I experienced in
keeping the mouth of the bag open, necessitated four plunges before I
had obtained half the bag full. There was not time to do more just
then, so I dressed, the bag was hauled up, and we returned with our
prize to the cutter.

We resolved to commence dinner with a course of oysters, and I forthwith
proceeded to open some, a task which gave me a very considerable amount
of difficulty.

Imagine, if you can, my surprise and delight when on opening the second
oyster I found that it contained several small pearls; the third was
opened, and it also contained several; the fourth had none, but the
fifth on being opened revealed three beauties, each as large as the top
of my middle finger. To be brief, I was soon satisfied that I had
stumbled upon a bed of pearl-oysters, about half of the bivalves
yielding when opened more or less pearls, the greater quantity being
small, such as are set in rings; but