rival of natives. Having no clue whatever to
account for the presence of this poor human being in such a lonely spot,
we fell to conjecturing what could have brought him there. I was
inclined to think that he must have been a shipwrecked sailor, whose
vessel had been lost here, and all the crew been drowned except himself
and his dog and cat. But Jack thought it more likely that he had run
away from his vessel, and had taken the dog and cat to keep him company.
We were also much occupied in our minds with the wonderful difference
between the cat and the dog. For here we saw that while the one
perished like a loving friend by its master's side, with its head
resting on his bosom, the other had sought to sustain itself by prowling
abroad in the forest, and had lived in solitude to a good old age.
However, we did not conclude from this that the cat was destitute of
affection, for we could not forget its emotions on first meeting with
us; but we saw from this that the dog had a great deal more of generous
love in its nature than the cat, because it not only found it impossible
to live after the death of its master, but it must needs, when it came
to die, crawl to his side and rest its head upon his lifeless breast.

While we were thinking on these things, and examining into everything
about the room, we were attracted by an exclamation from Peterkin.

"I say, Jack," said he, "here is something that will be of use to us."

"What is it?" said Jack, hastening across the room.

"An old pistol," replied Peterkin, holding up the weapon, which he had
just pulled from under a heap of broken wood and rubbish that lay in a
corner.

"That, indeed, might have been useful," said Jack, examining it, "if we
had any powder; but I suspect the bow and the sling will prove more
serviceable."

"True, I forgot that," said Peterkin; "but we may as well take it with
us, for the flint will serve to strike fire with when the sun does not
shine."

After having spent more than an hour at this place without discovering
anything of further interest, Peterkin took up the old cat, which had
lain very contentedly asleep on the stool whereon he had placed it, and
we prepared to take our departure. In leaving the hut, Jack stumbled
heavily against the door-post, which was so much decayed as to break
across, and the whole fabric of the hut seemed ready to tumble about our
ears. This put it into our heads that we might as well pull it down,
and