“ We were in excellent spirits and made rapid progress. When the sun was in the zenith, as we could see by an occasional glimpse through an opening in the dense canopy above us, we paused by a tiny stream of clear water for refreshments and a short rest. Our repast finished, while Mr. Harborough and I conversed concerning the present and the future, Marjorie wandered away a short distance, searching for new and beautiful flowers. Just as we rose to resume the march, and were about to call her, we heard an agonizing scream coming from the forest at no great distance away. ”

“ The wind had by this time nearly all died away, though the incessant roar of the surf continued on the beach. Hoping still that some one from the ill-fated vessel might escape to keep me company, I went again to the beach, walking along toward the creek. Seeing neither a body nor a sign of the boat, I started to follow along the bank of the creek with the intention of crossing it and searching along the shore in front of the bluff; but I had taken a few steps only when I stopped in astonishment, for almost at my feet, her shoulders upon a tangle of reeds, lay the body of a young woman. ”

“ I should see for myself the curious things of the sea, strange countries and people; and perhaps encounter fierce animals in the virgin forests, the home of birds of rare and beautiful plumage.
With a strong northwest breeze the bark stood away on her course, with every sail filled out and drawing handsomely. Although the weather had been clear and the sea fairly calm, by sunset a thin haze rendered the outline of the horizon dimly visible, and the Captain began to fear a blow. ”

“ Either the wretched person had been marooned, or, like ourselves had been cast away on the island, and, driven mad by solitude, exposure and the contemplation of his position had probably for several years roamed the forest as a wild man--a wild beast in every sense, except his origin. We moved the body to a corner of the chamber, composed the limbs and went out into the sunlight.
The long lever remained under the stone which had covered the opening, and we worked it back into place--closing the treasure chamber, now a tomb. We covered the stone thickly with earth and turned toward the forest. ”

“ I took my bow-gun, intending to keep a sharp lookout for pigeons, and Miss Harborough carried Puff, I having taken care to secure him to her arm by a thong so he could not impede our progress by flying away into the thicket.
We followed the bank of the stream and in due time reached the pool where we set about, in the best of spirits, gathering water-cocoanuts, bread fruit, oranges, bananas and plantains. Refreshing ourselves upon some ripe bananas that we found scattered through the bunches, while we sat beneath the shade of the broad leaves, we gathered up our spoils and set out to return. ”

“ We planted yam vines all around the new stockade, varying our labors by making trips to the pool for provisions, going on excursions into the forest, but never far away, securing pigeons with the aid of the shot-gun, but seeing no animals, and fishing in the stream. We lived sumptuously, with the fruit and the plentiful supplies from the vessel. At my suggestion, we planted a quantity of sweet potatoes, selecting a sunny spot near the stream, breaking up the ground with poles sharpened with the aid of a good axe, which we found in the carpenter's kit. ”

“ After this unpleasant adventure I felt anxious to be moving, and, making a fire, cooked some eggs which, with oranges from the stores, comprised my breakfast; after which I gathered a few more turtles' eggs, and resumed my march.
As I had done the day before I followed the coast, but instead of keeping along the sand I followed the edge of the forest, thinking it might prove more advantageous to do so as it would enable me to keep a look-out for game, and perhaps discover new fruits. ”

“ The pigs continued to remain on guard, the boar now and then getting up and regarding me contemplatively, until the sun sank behind the forest. Then the pigs moved away into the grass. It was soon dark, and the moon, which was near its full, came up over the mountains; but I was not long able to distinguish the movements of the pigs in the uncertain moonlight.
Patiently I waited, until the moon was directly over the clearing. There was no sound of the pigs, and, after a little, I slid to the ground and, cautiously gathering up my gun and provision bag, moved noiselessly away into the bush. ”

“ At the end of the fifth day, just before sunset, I reached the source of the stream, for coming suddenly to a wall of rock above which the mountain rose precipitously, I beheld the brook bubbling forth from the bowels of the mountains. I decided to camp here for the night, and proceeded about my usual preparations for getting supper. I had no yams, but plenty of oranges; but presently I saw some yam vines growing a short distance away, and it was the work of a few minutes only to procure enough for supper and breakfast. ”

“ I noticed that the parrots were not so noisy as they had been before I left for the interior, and for several weeks I was at a loss to account for it. But one evening, while returning from the water-cocoanut palms, I espied two diminutive parrots fluttering through the bush. They were young ones and not quite able to fly, though nearly fledged. They would launch out from a limb, sometimes falling short of their next perch, and sometimes striking against a limb, when they would flutter to the ground, making small, parrot-like cries. ”

“ The Sargasso weed is a genus by itself, which, thrust away to the south by the mighty ocean currents, lies in a vast central pool, a great eddy between the Gulf Stream and the Equatorial current; and here it revolves. It is ocean born, and long ages have passed since it lost its habit of growing on the rocky sea-bottom. Forever floating it feeds among its branches whole families of crabs, cuttle-fish and mollusks, which like the plant itself, are found in no other seas. ”

“ Reaching the bamboo thicket, we set to work cutting a great quantity of them, selecting those from two to four inches in diameter, I, meanwhile, explaining to Mr. Harborough how I proposed to construct the raft. We labored incessantly the entire day, only stopping, when the sun stood directly overhead, to allay the cravings of our appetites; and reaching the house, we were delighted to find that Miss Harborough had dinner all ready for us, she having roasted some yams and the only remaining bread fruit. I resolved to make a trip to the pool and procure another supply at once. ”

“ Almost every day I went to the beach to look for turtles' eggs, which I usually found in abundance.
The coast continued to loom up before me, head-land after head-land, stretches of beach and rocky bay shores. Allowing for the indentations of the coast that I followed, I concluded that the island was a large one; and, the fact that I was gradually turning toward the direction of the sun convinced me that its shape was nearly round.
I always camped just before sunset that I might have sufficient time to make a fire, cook and eat supper before dark. ”

“ I strove to occupy my mind by digging a large store of yams, and gathering hundreds of cocoanuts, and storing them inside the house for use when the rain should prevent my going far from the shore. I also gathered an immense quantity of dead branches for firewood, which I piled in the rear of the house, covering it thickly with grass and then broad leaves and bark stripped from the trees, to shed the water. ”

“ Tinder must be procured. Like a flash came to my mind the feathery heads of the wild cane. If I could find one dry enough I thought it would do. I at once ran up stream to where the canes grew, and after a little search I found a plume that was dead and quite dry. Bending the cane down I gathered a handful of the floss from the head, and going to the foot of a cocoanut tree, I lay the cane floss down by the foot of the tree and once more tried to produce a spark. I was soon able to obtain a spark frequently, but they invariably failed to reach the floss, or to ignite when they touched it. ”

“ At the cove we had a substantial house, and, with the stores and utensils from the wreck we should be very comfortably situated. And, beside, we had gradually, as we marched back and forth, evolved a scheme to remove some of the deck planks of the vessel and such lumber as we found available, and to try, during the rainy season, to construct a substantial boat in which we might venture to leave the island. We planned to construct a great shed, closed in on three sides and left open at the end facing the beach. Beneath this we would lay the keel of our craft and test our skill as ship-builders. ”

“ Again satisfying the cravings of hunger with oranges and cocoanuts, washed down with water from the brook, I cut another notch in the cocoanut-shell calendar, and after sitting and listening to the varied insect sounds until it was quite dark, I retired, to my couch within the inclosure. ”

“ We did not disturb Miss Harborough's cabin, having decided to let her accompany us on the next trip, when she could gather up her own belongings.
"There seems to be nothing else that can be of use to us," said Mr. Harborough, glancing around the cabin.
"Oh, but why not take the chairs? They are fastened to the floor of the cabin, but there must be tools on board in the carpenter's kit, with which we can easily remove them. And, then, the charts, the chronometer and the compass. Who knows but that they may be of great use to us? I am sure the compass would, at least." ”

“ I had worked so busily and had become so much interested that I scarcely noticed that the sun was already sinking behind the palm trees, and casting long shadows across the beach; so, as I was aware that darkness very quickly follows sunset in the tropics, I must make haste and provide a temporary shelter for the night before suspending work. I therefore cut the rest of the poles in halves and laid them across the two longer poles resting in the forks, thus forming a gridiron-like structure. ”

“ Harborough and myself set about the task of reaching the vessel.
"There is but one way to reach her, sir," I said, "and that is by means of a raft. It is the only sort of a craft that we can construct with no tools, and, besides, I believe we can make a raft which will carry the cargo."
"Your experience fits you to take the initiative," he replied. "I am under your direction. You shall lead, and I will follow and obey your instructions."
"I am sure our combined ideas only will produce the best results," I made answer. "But first let us proceed to the bamboo thicket." ”

“ The sun shone brightly, and the sea, deep blue and calm, stretched away toward the west, the long, gentle swells causing but a ripple on the beach. As I progressed, the island along the shore became less attractive than it was in the near vicinity of my house; and in some places it had a parched appearance. Once I was obliged to cross a flat area of several acres in extent, bounded by a high bluff, where I had to make my way cautiously among cactus plants of various kinds ”

“ Myriads of bats flitted about, almost flying against our faces, and several times nearly extinguishing our lamps. In a few minutes we came to a fair-sized chamber, nearly circular and perhaps a dozen feet in diameter; and as we entered it we were astonished to find that it was partially illumined by daylight. Stranger still, mounted on two huge wooden blocks were two brass cannon, pointing away from us.
"An ingenious fortification," remarked Mr. Harborough.
"A masked battery," said Marjorie. ”

“ Hurricanes could not be guarded against, so we only hoped that they would give us a wide berth.
The first showers had set in ere we resumed work on the boat. From one of the best planks we fashioned the keel, which was laid with some ceremony, Marjorie constituting the audience; after which we set about getting out the stern-post and the frame-pieces. While we were thus occupied Marjorie performed the house-hold duties, and, at odd times, busied herself heating the nails white-hot, and dropping them into water, which process transformed them into "clinch" nails. ”

“ It was finally settled that we would transport the golden treasure to Sargent, at the cove, in the knapsacks on our backs. To do this would require several journeys through the forest; but as time was no object to us, what more could we ask than to be able, during our exile, to so easily acquire wealth which would render us independent for life; for rescued we must surely be, sooner or later. ”

“ Nothing now remained to be done in connection with my dwelling, but to carry into execution an idea which I had evolved while at work, that of transplanting some creepers from the edge of the forest and training them along the stockade, so that, as I calculated, in a short time, in this tropical land of rapid growth, they would completely cover the stockade, and render my retreat more safe from observation, should my solitude be invaded. ”

“ The Captain at once prepared for a gale and ordered the sails trimmed to meet it. That the apprehensions of the Captain were grave was proven by the precautions taken; for not only was sail shortened to the last extremity, but the hatches were securely battened down.
The barometer began to fall about noon, and from that time the wind increased until it was blowing a gale; but just after sunset the wind almost died away, though the mountainous foam-flecked seas continued.
As the sun went down the sky rapidly became overcast, and a cloud of inky blackness appeared along the horizon. ”

“ At daylight that morning the black men continued along the shore in the canoe, the steamer following. As the canoe came in sight of the cove they saw the wreck and signalled back to the steamer, which had answered by a blast on her whistle.
It was the sound of the steamer's whistle which we heard just before the boat appeared. In a few minutes a large steamer came in sight from behind the point and anchored off the cove. A boat was immediately lowered and rowed swiftly ashore. A man in uniform sprang ashore and came hurriedly to us, extending both his hands which we eagerly grasped. ”