d, with which to
make the experiment. He soon found a fallen branch of the inocarpus,
well baked by the sun, and which had long lost every particle of
moisture. Breaking it into two pieces, he began to rub them together
with great zeal, and apparently with perfect faith in the result:
gradually he increased his exertions, manifesting a commendable
perseverance, until the bark began to fly, and the perspiration to
stream down his face; but still there was no fire, nor any sign of it.

Meantime, Max encouraged him to proceed.

"Keep it a-going, Johnny!" he cried, "if you stop for half a second, you
lose all your labour; only persevere, and you're sure to succeed; none
of the shipwrecked people you ever read of had any trouble about it, you
know."

But Johnny concluded that the sticks could not be of the right kind, and
notwithstanding Max's exhortations, he at last gave up the attempt.

Morton, however, not discouraged by this unfortunate result, nor by
Max's disposition to make fun of the experiment expressed a belief that
the thing could be done, and after preparing the sticks by cutting away
one of the rounded sides of each, he went to work with an earnestness
and deliberation, that caused us to augur favourably of his success.
After nearly ten minutes powerful and incessant friction, the sticks
began to smoke, and Johnny, tossing his cap into the air, gave an
exulting "Hurrah!"

But his rejoicing proved premature, for, though the wood fairly smoked,
that was the utmost that could be attained, and Morton was obliged to
desist, without having produced a flame.

Eiulo had been watching these proceedings with great interest; and he
now intimated by signs that he would make a trial. Taking the sticks,
he cut one of them to a point, with Arthur's knife, and made a small
groove along the flat surface of the other, which he then placed with
one end upon the ground, and the other against his breast, the grooved
side being upwards. Placing the point of the first stick in the groove,
he commenced moving it up and down along the second, pressing them hard
together. The motion was at first slow and regular, but increased
constantly in rapidity. By-and-bye the wood began to smoke again, and
then Eiulo continued the operation with greater vigour than ever. At
length a fine dust, which had collected at the lower extremity of the
groove, actually took fire; Arthur quickly inserted the edge of a
sun-dried cocoa-nut leaf i