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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Swiss Family Robinson Told in Words of One Syllable
+by Mary Godolphin
+
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+Title: The Swiss Family Robinson Told in Words of One Syllable
+
+Author: Mary Godolphin
+
+Release Date: October, 2004  [EBook #6692]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on January 13, 2003]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON TOLD IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE ***
+
+
+
+
+This eBook was produced by Bruce Miller.
+
+
+
+THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON
+
+TOLD IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE
+
+by Mary Godolphin
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+WHEN one has a good tale to tell, he should try to be brief, and not
+say more than he can help ere he makes a fair start; so I shall not say
+a word of what took place on board the ship till we had been six days
+in a storm. The barque had gone far out of her true course, and no one
+on board knew where we were. The masts lay in splints on the deck, a
+leak in the side of the ship let more in than the crew could pump out,
+and each one felt that ere long he would find a grave in the deep sea,
+which sent its spray from side to side of what was now but a mere hulk.
+
+"Come, boys," said I to my four sons, who were with me, "God can save
+us if it please Him so to do; but, if this is to be our last hour, let
+us bow to His will--we shall at least go down side by side."
+
+My dear wife could not hide the tears that fell down her cheeks as I
+thus spoke to my sons, but she was calm, and knelt down to pray, while
+the boys clung round her as if they thought she could help them.
+
+Just then we heard a cry of "Land! land!" felt a shock, and it was
+clear that we had struck on a rock, for we heard a loud cry from one of
+the men, "We are lost! Launch the boat; try for your lives!"
+
+I went at once on deck, and found that all the boats had been let down,
+and that the last of the crew had just left the ship. I cried out for
+the men to come back and take us with them, but it was in vain.
+
+I then thought that our last chance was gone. Still, as I felt the ship
+did not sink, I went to the stern, and found, to my joy, that she was
+held up by a piece of rock on each side, and made fast like a wedge. At
+the same time I saw some trace of land, which lay to the south, and
+this made me go back with some hope that we had still a faint chance.
+
+ As soon as I got down stairs I took my wife by the hand, and said, "Be
+of good cheer, we are at least safe for some time, and if the wind
+should veer round, we may yet reach the land that lies but a short way
+off."
+
+I said this to calm the fears of my wife and sons, and it did so far
+more than I had a right to hope.
+
+"Let us now take some food," said my wife. "We are sure to need it, for
+this will no doubt be a night to try our strength."
+
+My wife got some food for her boys, which we were glad to see them eat,
+poor as it was; but we could not share their meal. Three out of the
+four were put to bed in their berths, and soon went to sleep; but
+Fritz, who was our first child, would not leave us. He said, like a
+good son, that he would try to be of some use, and think what could be
+done.
+
+"If we could but find some cork," said Fritz to me in a low tone, "we
+might make floats. You and I will not need them, for we can swim, but
+the rest will want some such means to keep them up."
+
+"A good thought," said I. "Let us try to find what things there are in
+the ship that we can thus make use of."
+
+We soon found some casks and ropes, and with these we made a kind of
+float for each of the three boys, and then my wife made one for her own
+use. This done, we got some knives, string, and such things as we could
+make fast to our belts. We did not fail to look for and find a flint
+and steel, and the box in which the burnt rags were kept, for these
+were at that time in use as the means to strike a light.
+
+Fritz, who was now well-nigh worn out, lay down on his bed and slept
+like the rest. As for me and my poor wife, we kept watch, each in fear
+lest the next wave should lift the ship off the rock and break it up.
+
+I need not tell you how glad we were when we saw the first gleam of
+light. At dawn the wind did not blow so strong, the sky was clear of
+clouds, and we saw the sun rise, and with it rose our hopes. I soon had
+my wife and sons on deck.
+
+"Where are the men?" said they. "How can we steer the ship?"
+
+"My dear boys," said I, "He who has kept us safe till now will still
+aid us. Let all hands set to work, and leave the rest to God."
+
+At these words we all went to work with a will. My wife went to feed
+the live stock; Fritz set off in search of arms, and the means to make
+use of them; and Ernest made his way to the tool chest. Jack ran to
+pick up what he could find, but as he got to one of the doors he gave
+it a push, and two huge dogs sprang out and leaped at him. He thought
+at first that they would bite him, but he soon found that they meant
+him no harm, and one of them let him get on his back and ride up to me
+as I came from the hold of the ship.
+
+When the boys had done their search, and the spoil was brought on deck,
+we thought we had found all that we should need. "As for me," said my
+wife, "I have brought good news, for I find we have still on board a
+cow, an ass, two goats, six sheep, a ram, a pig, and a sow, and I have
+found food for them all."
+
+"All that you bring will be of use," said I; "but I fear that Jack's
+dogs will do us more harm than good."
+
+"Not at all," said Jack, "for they can help us to hunt when we get to
+land."
+
+"Well said, Jack. And now let us see what we can do that will aid us to
+get there."
+
+We then took the casks that we had found, and Ernest and I soon cut
+them in half. With these tubs we made a kind of raft, though it was no
+slight task. The tubs, in fact, were a fleet of eight small round
+boats, made so fast to some planks that no one of them could float from
+the rest. The next thing to be done was to launch the raft. This we at
+length did, and when the boys saw it slide down the side of the ship
+and float on the sea, they gave a loud shout, and each one tried who
+should be the first to get on it. I made it fast to the ship, and there
+left it.
+
+I then told my wife to change her dress for that of one of the crew
+which she had found, as her skirts would have got in her way when she
+had to climb. She did not at first like this, but did so as soon as she
+saw the truth of what I told her.
+
+At last, when all was done, we went to bed, and slept as sound as if we
+had been on land.
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+WE were all up at the break of day, and knelt down to thank God that He
+had kept us from harm through the night.
+
+We then put all the things on the raft, and ten live hens and two cocks
+were put in one of the tubs. Some ducks and geese we let go, in the
+hope that they would swim to the shore; and a pair of doves were set
+free, as they could fly to the land.
+
+There was a place in the raft for each of us. In the first tub sat my
+wife; in the next Frank, who was eight years old; in the third Fritz,
+not quite twice the age of Frank; in the fourth were the fowls, and
+some old sails that would make us a tent; the fifth was full of good
+things in the way of food; in the sixth stood Jack, a bold lad, ten
+years old; in the next Ernest, twelve years of age, well taught, but
+too fond of self, and less fond of work than the rest; while I sat in
+the eighth, to guide the raft that was to save all that was dear to me
+in the world.
+
+As soon as the dogs (Bill and Turk by name) saw us push off from the
+ship they leaped in the sea, swam near the raft, and kept well up with
+us.
+
+The sea was calm; so that we felt quite safe. We made good use of the
+oars, and the raft bore its freight straight to the land; but as we
+drew near to the shore the sight of the bare rocks led us to think that
+we might still be in need of food and drink when that which we had was
+gone.
+
+As we got near, the coast lost its bare look, and we were glad to see
+that there was no lack of trees. We soon found a bay, to which the
+ducks and geese had found their way, and here we saw a place where we
+could land.
+
+As soon as we had made the raft fast with a strong rope, we took out
+all our wealth, and made a tent with the old sail cloth we had brought
+with us, and stuck a pole in the ground to keep it up. This done, I
+sent the boys to get some moss and dry grass to make our beds with.
+With the flint and steel we soon set fire to some dry twigs, and my
+wife made a pot of soup with what she had brought from the ship.
+
+Fritz, who had charge of the guns, chose one, and took a stroll by the
+side of a stream, while Jack went in search of shell fish, which he
+thought he might find on the rocks. My share of the work was to save
+two large casks which were near the shore. While I was up to my knees
+in the sea I heard a shrill cry, which I knew to come from Jack. I got
+out at once, took up an axe, and ran to his help. I found him with his
+legs in a rock pool, where a large crab held him by his toes. It soon
+made off as I came near; but I struck at it with the axe, and brought
+it out of the pool. Jack then took it up, though it gave him a pinch or
+two ere he found out how to hold it, and ran off in high glee to show
+what he had caught.
+
+When I got back to the tent, I found that Ernest had brought us news
+that he had seen salt in the chinks of the rocks, and that shell fish
+were not scarce.
+
+"Well, my boy, if you are sure you saw them, I will ask you to go back
+for some. We must each do some work for the good of all."
+
+He went, and soon found the salt, left by the sea on the rocks, which
+the sun had made quite dry. There was some sand with it, but my wife
+did not take long to find a way to cure that. She had been to a fresh
+stream with a large jug; from this I saw her pour some on the salt,
+strain it through a cloth, and let it drip in a cup, so that all the
+sand was left on the cloth.
+
+When the soup was made hot we had each a taste, and all said that it
+was good.
+
+"Be not in too great haste," said my wife, "we must wait for Fritz;
+but if he were here, I do not see how we are to take our soup, for we
+have no plates nor spoons."
+
+"If we had but some large nuts," said Ernest, "we might cut them in
+half, and they would make good bowls."
+
+"Quite true," said I; "but as there are none, we may as well wish for
+delf bowls and real spoons at once."
+
+"Now I have it," quoth Ernest. "Let us use the shells I saw on the
+shore."
+
+Off ran Jack to the shore, with Ernest at his heels, and back they both
+came with large and small shells for us all.
+
+Just then Fritz came in, with a look of gloom on his face, which I
+could see was a sham.
+
+"You do not mean to tell me you have come back with nought?" said I, as
+he put out his hands as if to prove that such was the case. But Jack,
+who had been round him, cried out, "No, no! he's got a pig!--such a
+fine one. Tell us where you found it."
+
+Fritz now brought forth his prize. When I saw it, I knew, from what I
+had read, that it was not a pig, but a swift beast, known in these
+parts, that lives on fruit and nuts, and hides in the earth. (*The
+Agouti.)
+
+"I like the place much more than I do this spot," said he. "The shore
+lies low, and there are planks, casks, chests, and all sorts of things,
+that the sea has thrown up. Why not leave this place at once, and go
+there?"
+
+"There is a time for all things," said I. "We must at least rest here
+for one night."
+
+We all sat down to take our soup with the shell spoons. Ernest took
+from his coat a large shell, which he had hid till now, put it in the
+soup, and then set it down to cool.
+
+"You do not show want of thought," said I to him. "But I am not glad to
+see that you think so of your-self, and do so much for your own ease,
+when all the rest do so much for yours. Now, that shell full of soup
+you must give to our two dogs. We can all dip our small shells in the
+pot, and you must do as we do."
+
+I knew he felt hurt at this, but he gave it to the dogs at once, and
+they soon made quick work of their share of the soup.
+
+The sun was low when our meal came to an end. The fowls came round us
+to pick up the stray crumbs we had let fall, and my wife took out her
+bag of grain and fed the cocks and hens, and sent them to roost on the
+top of our tent.
+
+We took care to load our fire-arms, in case we might need them in the
+night; sang a hymn of praise to God, and then left our fate in His
+hands.
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+As soon as I heard the cock crow, and saw by the light that it was
+break of day, I got out of bed and spoke to my wife as to what we
+should do next.
+
+"First," said I, "Fritz and I will make a tour of the coast and try to
+find some of the men who left the ship, for if they are here they may
+be in want."
+
+"But," said Fritz, who had heard me from his bed, "why should we search
+for those who left us to die on the wreck?"
+
+"Well, I will tell you," said I. "First, we should do to them as we
+would wish them to do to us, not as they have done; next, we know that
+they took no food with them, and we should not leave them to starve;
+and last, it may be that they can help us, though now they stand more
+in need of our aid."
+
+The boys were soon up, and we all sat down to a good meal. That done,
+Fritz and I got our guns. I put a pair of small arms in his belt. gave
+him a game bag, and told him to take an axe. I took some food for us
+both, and a full flask, out of which we could drink if we should stray
+far from a stream.
+
+When we took our leave, my wife and the three boys were in tears. The
+dog Bill we left to guard the tent, but Turk went with us, and ran by
+our side.
+
+We soon got to the banks of a stream; but then had to make our way down
+its course. It took us some time to reach the sea shore. There was not
+a boat to be seen, or any sign that the ship's crew had found the land.
+We left the shore, and went through a wood full of tall trees. Here
+Fritz struck some hard thing on the ground with his foot, which we
+found to be a CO-COA NUT. He gave it a blow with his axe, and broke the
+shell, and we both sat down to rest, and eat the nut.
+
+At the end of the wood we came to a plain which gave us a clear view of
+the place. Fritz, who was on the look out, ran off with Turk to some
+strange trees that he saw on the right.
+
+When I got up to him, it gave me no small joy to find that it was a
+gourd tree.
+
+"Try," said I, "if you can get hold of one of those queer lumps that
+grow on it."
+
+With that he brought one down, and we had a look at it.
+
+"Now, of this," said I, "we can make a plate, a dish, or a flask. Wild
+men set great store by its shell, which they use to hold their food and
+drink."
+
+We then set to work to make plates of the gourds. When we had made some
+eight or ten bowls, and some flat ones for plates, we laid them out in
+the sun to dry, and then went on our way.
+
+We could see, not far off, a grove of fine palm trees, but to reach
+them we should have to pass through reeds and long grass. I knew this
+was just the place to find snakes, so we each cut a cane, that we might
+beat them off should we meet with any. As I took hold of my staff, I
+felt a gum or juice ooze out of the end. I put my tongue to it, and
+found it of a sweet taste. This led me to suck the reed, and I then
+knew that we had met with the SUG-AR CANE. By this time Fritz had done
+the same, for I could see that he held his cane to his mouth.
+
+"Do not suck too much of it," said I, "or it will make you ill; but let
+us cut some of the best and take them back with us, for those at home
+will prize so great a treat."
+
+It did not take us long to reach the place where the palms grew, and
+then we sat down in the shade to eat the food we had brought with us.
+
+"Do you see those nuts at the top of the trees, Fritz ?" said I.
+
+"To be sure I do; but they are far too high to reach. Look, look!" he
+cried, "there are some MON-KEYS; let me have a shot at them."
+"Do not do that," I said, and held his arm; "it will do us no good to
+kill them, and I think I can make use of them." With that I threw some
+stones up at the tree where they were, though they had got safe out of
+my reach. They then made a loud noise, took hold of the nuts that were
+near, and flung them straight at us. The trick made Fritz laugh, who
+soon had hard work to pick up the nuts that were thrown at him.
+
+We broke some of the nuts, and put the juice of the canes in the thick
+white cream which forms close to the shell; and this made us a dish
+that Fritz said was fit for a king.
+
+Fritz and I then made fast some nuts to a string, which I tied round my
+waist, while he took up his canes, and we both set off on our road home.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+ON our way back we took up the gourd bowls and plates, which we found
+quite dry and hard as bone, and put them in our bags. We had scarce got
+through the wood, when Turk made a dart in front of us, and we saw a
+troop of apes rush out of the way. But he gave a leap and brought down
+one that could not climb so fast as the rest, for she had a young one
+in her arms. Turk made short work of the poor thing, for ere Fritz
+could call the dog off, the ape was dead. The young one, as soon as it
+saw Fritz, sprang on his back, put its paws in his curls, and would not
+let go. I at length got the ape from Fritz's back, and took it up in my
+arms like a child. We found that it was too young to seek its own food,
+and, as Fritz said he should like to take it home, we put it on Turk's
+back. Turk did not at first like this, but we soon got him to bear the
+ape, which held so tight by the hair on the dog's neck that it could
+not well fall off. Fritz then led Turk with a string, that he might not
+stray out of sight, or throw off his charge, which I think he would
+have done had we not been on the watch.
+
+It did not take us long to reach the bank of the stream near to our
+home.
+
+I need not tell you how glad my wife and sons were to see us safe back,
+or with what joy the boys took the "real live ape" out of Fritz's arms.
+
+At length, when they got more staid, I told them that we had brought
+them all sorts of good things, but that we had not met with any of the
+men of whom we went in search. "God's will be done," said my wife, "let
+us thank Him that you have come back safe to us. This day to me has
+been an age; but put down your loads, for we must now go in and hear
+what you have to tell."
+
+Fritz and I then told them, by turns, where we found the things we
+brought with us, how we made and dried the plates and bowls, cut the
+canes, and caught the ape in the wood. Our tales had not come to an end
+when we were told that it was time to sup. Ernest had shot a wild
+goose, and some fish had been caught in the stream. With these, and the
+Dutch cheese that we brought from the ship, we made a good meal; but
+the boys would not rest till we broke some of the nuts, from which they
+drank the milk, made sweet with the juice of the canes. I must tell you
+that we ate our food in great state from our gourd rind plates, which
+my wife said she should prize more than if they were made of pure gold.
+
+That night the ape went to bed with Jack and Fritz, and we all slept in
+peace till the cocks on the roof of the tent woke us up.
+
+Next day Fritz and I went back to the wreck to save the live stock, and
+get what else we had left that might be of use to us. We found it no
+light task, for we had to make floats for the cow, the ass, the sheep,
+and the goats, throw them in the sea, and tie them with ropes to our
+raft. We put on board the raft a vast deal of food that had not been
+spoiled by the sea, though the waves had made a breach in the sides of
+the wreck. We then put to sea with our train of live stock made fast to
+the stern.
+
+We had not gone far when I heard a loud cry of fear from Fritz, "We are
+lost! We are lost! See what a great shark is on its way to us!"
+
+Though pale with fright, he took aim with his gun, and shot the fish in
+the head. It sank at once, but left a track of blood in the sea, which
+I knew to be a sign that we were once more safe. We then got to land,
+and made fast our freight to the shore. Ere we had done this our
+friends came to give us what help they could to get the beasts out of
+the stream, and take them up to the tent. The poor things were well
+nigh worn out; but we took good care of them, and put them to rest on
+some dry grass that my wife had laid out for them.
+
+That night we did not sup on the ground. My wife had spread a
+cloth on the top of a cask, and we each sat on a tub. With the knives
+and forks that we had found in the ship we ate a dish of hot ham and
+eggs, nor did we fail to test the wine that I had brought with me in a
+small cask from the wreck.
+
+Ere bed-time my wife had told me that while I was at the wreck she had
+gone in search of some place in which we could build a house.
+
+"And did you find one, my dear?" I said.
+
+"Oh, yes," said she. "We can take you to a great tree that will serve
+us well, if we can but get across the stream with our goods."
+
+"But would you have us roost, like fowls, in a tree? How do you think
+we could get up to our perch?"
+
+"Was there not a large lime tree in our town in which they built a ball
+room, with stairs up the trunk?"
+
+"To be sure there was," said I; "and if we can not build in it, we can
+at least make use of its shade, and dwell in a hut on the roots."
+
+Ernest said that he took a string, and found that it was twelve yards
+round. This led me to think that my wife's scheme was by no means a bad
+one, and that I would have a look at the tree the next day.
+
+When I had heard all they had to tell, we knelt down to pray, and then
+sought a good night's rest, which the toils of the day made us much in
+need of.
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+WHEN I rose from my bed the next day, I said to my wife: "Does it not
+seem, my dear, as if God had led us to this place, and that we should
+do wrong to leave it?"
+
+"What you say may be quite true, so far as it goes," she said; "but I
+must tell you that the mid-day heat is more than we can bear, and that
+if we stay here we may have to keep watch at night, for there are, no
+doubt, wild beasts of some kind that will find us out; and we should
+not trust too much to our dogs, who may lose their lives in a fight
+with them."
+
+"I dare say you are right," said I; "but I do not yet see how we can
+cross the stream. We shall first have to build a bridge."
+
+The boys were now all out of their beds; and while my wife went to milk
+the cow and cook some food, I made my plans known to them. They were
+all glad when they heard that we were to leave, and each said he, would
+help to build the bridge.
+
+The first thing to be done was to find some strong planks; and Fritz,
+Ernest, and I went down to the shore, and got in the boat, which the
+tide took down to the bay.
+
+On a piece of land which lay to the left we could see some large dark
+thing, round which flew a flock of sea gulls. We put up a sail and
+caught a gust of wind which had sprung up, and this soon brought the
+boat to the spot. We made no noise, but crept up the shore step by
+step, and we got so near that Ernest brought down some of the birds
+with a stick. Fritz was the first to find out that what the sea gulls
+had just left was the huge fish he had shot in the sea. We cut off some
+rough skin, which we thought might serve for files, and then went back
+to the boat. I took a glance at the shore ere I got in, and to my great
+joy saw some of the planks and spars from the wreck lay on the ground
+not far off. Our next care was to bind these so as to make a raft,
+which we tied to the stern of the boat, and then, by the use of our
+oars, soon made our way up the stream to the place where the bridge was
+to be built. Our young friends were glad to see us back so soon, and
+ran to meet us; Jack had a cloth in his hand, in which was a store of
+cray fish and crabs just caught in some of the nooks of a rock up the
+stream.
+
+"Do not fail to give God thanks," said I, "that our lot has been cast
+where we can pick up more food than we can eat."
+
+It would take a long time to tell how we brought all the wood up to the
+spot, built piers of stone in the stream, and put the planks one by one
+in the place; it was late at night when we left off work, and once more
+sought our tent.
+
+The next day we saw the sun rise, and took our first meal in haste, for
+we knew we should have a long day's toil. All the stores that we could
+not take with us were laid by in the tent, the door of which was made
+safe by a row of casks, that we put round it. My wife and Fritz soon
+led the way; the cow went next; then the ass, with Frank on its back.
+Jack led the goats, and on the back of one of them sat the ape. Ernest
+took charge of the sheep, and I brought up the rear as chief guard. We
+took care to cross the bridge one at a time, and found it bore our
+weight well; but once or twice we thought the cow would step in the
+stream, or fall off the boards, when she went to the sides to drink.
+
+Just as we had left the bridge, Jack cried out, "Be quick! here is a
+strange beast with quills as long as my arm." The dogs ran, and I with
+them, and found a large POR-CU-PINE, in the grass. It made a loud
+noise, and shot out its quills at the dogs, and made them bleed. At
+this Jack shot at the beast, which fell dead on the spot. My wife's
+first thought was to dress the wounds made by the quills, which had
+stuck in the nose of one of the dogs, while the boys made haste to
+pluck some of the quills from the skin of their strange prize.
+
+At last our march came to an end, and I saw for the first time the
+great trees that my wife had told me of. They were of vast size, and
+were, I thought, fig trees. "If we can but fix our tent up there," I
+said, "we shall have no cause to dread, for no wild beasts can reach
+us." We sent Frank off to find sticks, with which to make a fire, and
+my wife made some soup of the flesh of the beast we had slain, though
+we did not like it so well as we did the ham and cheese we brought with
+us.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE meal at an end, my first thought was to make some steps by means of
+which we could reach the first strong branch of the tree. Ernest and I
+went in search of some thick canes that grew in the sands hard by.
+These we cut down, bound them to four long poles, and thus made a pair
+of steps that would, we thought, reach far up the trunk.
+
+On our way back from the sands, one of the dogs made a dart at a clump
+of reeds, and a troop of large birds rose on the wing with a loud
+noise. Fritz let fly at them, and brought down two at a shot. One of
+them fell quite dead, but its mate, though hurt in the wing, made use
+of its long legs so well that it would have got off if Bill had not
+held it. The joy of Fritz, to have caught such a strange bird, was so
+great that he would have us at once bind it by the neck and take it
+back with us. "Look," said Ernest, "what fine plumes he has, and you
+see he has web feet like a goose, and has long legs like a stork: thus
+he can run on land as fast as he can swim."
+
+"Yes," said I, "and he can fly with more speed through the air, for
+these birds have great strength in their wings. In fact, few birds have
+such means of flight as the FLA-MIN-GO."
+
+My wife thought the great bird might need more food than we could
+spare. I told her that it would feed on small fish and worms, and not
+rob our geese of their grain. I then tied him to a stake near the
+stream; and in a few days we were glad to find that he knew us, and
+would come at a call, like a tame bird.
+
+While I sat on the grass with my sons, late in the day, I thought I
+would try to make a bow and thus save our shot. This I did with a long
+cane and a piece of string, and then made a dart with a sharp point,
+which I shot off and found it would go straight. The branch of the tree
+on which we were to fix our hut was so high that our steps would not
+near reach it. I tied some strong thread to the dart, and shot it over
+the branch; then tied a piece of rope to the end of the thread, and
+drew that up, and at last made a long row of cane steps, with a rope at
+each side, which we drew up to the first strong branch. The boys were
+now all in haste to climb the tree, but I chose that Jack, who was
+light of build and sure of foot, should go up first and try the
+strength of our work. Fritz went up next with some nails, and made the
+ropes fast to the tree, while I drove stakes in the ground to keep them
+firm at the foot. It was now time for me to mount, and up I went with
+an axe to lop off the twigs and smooth the bough that was to form the
+ground of our new house. I sent the boys down out of my way, and kept
+hard at work till it was late, for the sky was clear, and the moon lent
+me her beams of light to see by.
+
+When I came down my wife spread a good meal on the ground, which we ate
+as best we could, and then made our beds of dry moss, round which we
+put heaps of twigs. These we set light to, as watch fires to keep off
+wild beasts and snakes. The toils of the day had made the boys tired,
+and they were soon in a sound sleep, but my wife and I took it in turns
+to watch through the whole night.
+
+We were all out of bed as soon as light was in the sky, and set to work
+to hoist up the planks that were to form the floor of our hut. These we
+laid down on the branch, with their ends made fast to a cross piece of
+wood that we had to fix to the trunk of the tree. Our nails were long,
+and we drove each one of them home, so that we had no cause to fear the
+strength of our work. By the time we had done this the day was far
+spent, and we were all glad to lay by our tools and rest our limbs.
+That night we lit our fires round the tree, tied the dogs to the roots,
+and went up to sleep out of harm's way for the first time since we left
+the ship. When the steps were drawn up we all felt that we were now
+safe at last, and that we had brought the toils of the day to a good
+end.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+WE did not wake next day till the sun shone in upon us. I told my wife
+and sons that as it was the Lord's day we would do no work. Our beasts
+and birds had first to be fed. This was done by my wife, who then
+brought us some hot milk, and made us sit down on the grass and take
+it. When our meal was done, I got on a log in front of my sons, and we
+all sang a psalm we knew by heart. Then I sought to teach them and
+spoke to them thus:
+
+"There was once on a time a Great King, who had two vast realms, the
+Land of Light and Truth, and the Land of Night and Sloth. Those who
+dwelt in the first were full of life and joy. The King held his court
+at the Place of Rest where all was bright.
+
+"This King had a land, not far off, where those for whom he had so much
+love should dwell ere they went one by one to the Place of Rest. This
+land was the Home of Earth. He gave to his Son the right to rule the
+host that dwelt in the Home of Earth, and set forth to think what they
+were to do, and all the ills that would come to them if they did not do
+as they were bid.
+
+"At first they were all glad to hear the way in which they were to
+live, and the terms on which they could reach the Land of Light and
+Truth. Sad to tell, they soon broke the King's laws, and paid no heed
+to what they knew to be his will. Still there were a few who did as
+they had been taught, and dwelt in peace, in the hope that they would
+please the King and at last reach the place where he held his court.
+
+From time to time ships came to the Home of Earth, and at last a great
+ship was sent, the name of which was The Grave, which bore the flag of
+Death. To the good it was a sign of hope, but the bad were thrown by
+the sight of it into a state of gloom. These ships were not
+seen till they came close to the shore, and then the crew were sent
+forth to find those whom they were told to seize. Some went back with
+them full of joy, but most were seen to weep and mourn their fate. So
+soon as they were brought in sight of the Great King, the Prince took
+those who had done well, and put a white robe on them; but those who
+went their own way when on the Home of Earth, he sent down to toil in
+deep, dark mines till time shall be no more."
+
+When my sons had heard my tale to the end they all knew what it meant;
+I then drew from them their views of what they ought to do to please
+and serve the Great King. We then sang a hymn; and my wife drew from
+her bag the BIBLE, which I gave to one of the boys, who read from it in
+a clear, loud voice. When this was brought to a close, we all knelt
+down on the grass to pray, and to ask God to bless the means we took to
+learn His will.
+
+We did no work that day, but took a long stroll up the banks of the
+stream.
+
+The next day Ernest and Jack tried their skill with the bow, and
+brought down some small birds that came to the great tree in quest of
+figs. I gave them leave to kill what they could; for I knew if put in
+casks made air tight with grease, they would keep for a time, and might
+prove a boon, if our stock of food should get low.
+
+When we sat down to dine, the thought struck me that it would be well
+to give some name to each part of the land that was known to us. This
+was at first the source of some fun, for Fritz said we should call the
+bay where we had found the shell spoons by the name of Spoon Bay; but
+Jack, who still had a mark on his toe where the crab gave him a pinch,
+thought we ought to term it Crab Bay.
+
+"If you will let me give it a name," said my wife, "I should wish to
+know it by some term that will make us bear in mind how good God was to
+lead our raft there, and I don't think Safe Bay will be a bad name for
+it."
+
+"So let it be," said I; and from that time Safe Bay had a name.
+"What shall be the name of the spot where we spent our first night on
+shore? You shall give that its name," said I to Fritz.
+
+"Let us call it Tent House,"
+
+"That will do," said I. "And now for the spot at the mouth of Safe Bay,
+where we found our planks?"
+
+"Sharp Point," said Ernest. The place from which Fritz and I sought for
+a trace of out ship mates was to be known as No Man's Cape. Then we had
+the Boys' Bridge, which name I gave it from a wish to please my sons,
+who had done so much to build it.
+
+"But what shall we call the place which is most dear to us all?"
+
+"Now, my dear," said I to my wife, "it is your turn. What shall we say?"
+
+"Let us call it The Nest," said she; and with that I gave each of my
+young birds a glass of sweet wine.
+
+"Here's to 'The Nest,'" said I; "and may we live long to bless the day
+and the means that brought us here."
+
+When the heat of the day was past, I told my sons that I should be glad
+to take a walk with them. My wife said that she should like to go with
+us; so we left The Nest in charge of Turk, and bent our course to the
+banks of the stream. On our way we went past some shrubs and rare
+herbs, which my wife knew well how to make use of should we fall sick;
+and Ernest found a large spot of ground on which grew a fine kind of
+PO-TA-TO. At these the boys set to work with such zeal, that we soon
+had a full bag of the ripe fruit. We then went on to Tent House, which
+we found in the same state as when we left it to cross the stream on
+our way to the great tree.
+
+We found that our ducks and geese had grown so wild that they would not
+come near us; so, while my wife and I went to pick up such things as we
+thought we might take back with us, Ernest and Fritz were sent to catch
+them, and to tie their legs and wings, and in this way we got them at
+last to The Nest.
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+IT took the whole of the next day to make a sledge, to which we tied
+the ass, and drove to Tent House. On our sledge we put such of the
+casks which held food, and took them back to The Nest. Fritz and I went
+once more to the wreck, and this time we brought off chests of clothes,
+pigs of lead, cart wheels, sacks of maize, oats, peas, and wheat. With
+a strong bar we broke down some of the doors, and took such parts of
+the ship as we thought would aid us to build our house, which as yet
+was far less safe than I could wish. These we bound with cords, and
+made them float back at the stern of the raft.
+
+When we got to the shore my wife and the three boys were there to greet
+us. My first care was to send for the sledge, and with this we took
+most of our new wealth up to The Nest.
+
+The next day I told my sons that they must now learn to run, to leap,
+to climb, and to throw stones straight at a mark, as all these things
+would be of great use to them in their new mode of life.
+
+I next taught them to use the LAS-SO, by means of which men catch the
+wild horse on the vast plains of the New World. I tied two stones to
+the ends of a cord some yards in length, and flung off one of them at
+the trunk of a young tree; the cord went round and round it in a coil
+and bound it so tight that I could have drawn it to me had it not been
+fast in the ground. This trick the boys were not slow to learn; and
+Fritz, in a short time, could take an aim as well with a stone as he
+could with his gun.
+
+As yet we had not seen much of the isle; for it took most of our time
+to build the house. But one day we made up our minds that we would all
+start on a tour. We rose at dawn, put the ass in the sledge, took what
+food we thought we should need, and set out from The Nest just as the
+sun rose.
+
+When we came to the wood where Fritz found the ape, he told them by
+what means we got the nuts, but now there were no apes there to throw
+them down.
+
+"Oh, if one would but fall from the trees," he said.
+
+The words had but just left his lips when a large nut fell at his feet.
+He made a start back, and two more came down near the same spot.
+
+As the nuts were far from ripe, I was at a loss to know how they could
+fall off the tree, for I could not see an ape nor a bird near.
+
+I went close up to the tree, and saw a large land crab on its way down
+the trunk. Jack struck a blow at him with a stick, but did not hit the
+beast. He then took off his coat and threw it on the crab's head, while
+I made an end of him with an axe. I told them that these crabs climb
+the trees and break off the nuts, as we had seen, and then come down to
+feast on them at their ease.
+
+"But how do they crack the nuts?" said Jack.
+
+"They make a hole through the shell at the thin end, and then suck them
+dry."
+
+The dead crab was put in the sledge, and we went on through the wood.
+When we came to the Gourd Wood, we sat down to make some more bowls and
+flasks to take back with us. Ernest had gone to try what new thing he
+could find, but he had not been from us long, when we heard him call out
+
+"A wild boar! A great wild boar! Come here, pray!"
+
+We took up our guns, and went at once with the dogs to the spot. We
+soon heard Turk give a loud bark, and just then we heard Ernest laugh,
+and saw the two dogs come through a clump of brush wood, with our old
+sow fast by the ears. She did not seem to like the way in which they
+had put an end to her feast of fruit, so she ran back as soon as we
+told the dogs to let go their hold of her ears.
+
+"But with all our sport," said Fritz, "we have a poor show of game.
+Let us leave the young ones, and set off to see what we can meet with."
+Ernest sat down with Frank, and we left them and my wife at the gourd
+tree, while Fritz and Jack set off with me to a high rock which we saw
+on the right.
+
+"Fritz, look here," said Jack, as he made his way to the rock.
+
+"What have you found now?" said Fritz.
+
+"I don't know what it is, but it's a fine prize."
+
+When I went up I saw at once that it was a large I-GUA-NA, the flesh
+and eggs of which are both good for food. I had heard that these and
+such like beasts will stand still if you play an air on a pipe. So I
+crept near, and made a low sound with my lips, while I held in my right
+hand a stout stick, to which I had tied a cord with a noose, and in my
+left hand a slight wand. I saw it first move its tail, and then draw
+its head from side to side, as if to look where the sound came from. I
+then threw the noose round its neck, drew it tight, got on its back
+with a leap and thrust the wand up its nose, which is the sole part of
+the beast where there are no hard scales. It bled at once, and was soon
+dead, nor did it seem to feel any pain. Our prize, which was near five
+feet long was no slight weight to lift. I got it at last on my back,
+and thus we went back to the gourd tree, where we found the rest quite
+safe.
+
+It took us a long time to reach The Nest that night. My wife did her
+best to dress some of the flesh of the land crab, but it was tough, and
+did not taste so nice as the soup made from the beast that we had
+caught by the nose.
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+FRITZ and I spent the whole of the next day in the woods. We took the
+ass and one of the dogs with us, but left all else at home.
+
+Our way first lay through a dense wood, where we saw no end of small
+birds, but such game could not now tempt Fritz to waste his shot. We
+then had to cross a vast plain, and to wade through the high grass,
+which we did with care, lest we should tread on some strange thing that
+might turn and bite us.
+
+We came at last to a grove of small trees, and in their midst I saw a
+bush, which I knew to be the wax tree, for the wax grew on it like
+white beads. I need not say how glad I was to find so great a prize. We
+had up to this time gone to bed as soon as the sun went down, for we
+had no lamp to use; but as we could now make wax lights, I told Fritz
+that we had found what would add two or three hours per day to our
+lives. We took as much of the wax as would serve us for some time, and
+then made our way out of the grove.
+
+"How came you," said Fritz, "to know so much of the queer beasts,
+trees, and plants that we have found here?"
+
+"When young," said I, "I used to read all the books that fell in my
+way; and those that told of strange lands and what was to be seen in
+them had for me as great a charm as they have for Ernest, who has read
+a great deal, and knows more of plants than you do."
+
+"Well," said he, "I will do the same if I but get the chance. Can you
+tell what is the name of that huge tree on the right? See, there are
+balls on the bark."
+
+We went close to it, and found that these balls were of thick gum,
+which the sun had made quite hard. Fritz tried to pull one of them off,
+but felt that it clung tight to the bark, though he could change its
+shape with his warm hands. "Look," said he, "I feel sure that this is
+the IN-DI-A RUB-BER which we used to clean our school books." I took a
+piece of it in my hand, and said, "To be sure it is. What shall we not
+find in this rich land?" I then told him how the men in the New World
+made flasks of this gum, in which form it is sent to all parts of the
+world. "And I do not see why we should not make boots of it in the same
+way. We have but to fill a sock with sand, then put gum all round it,
+while in a soft state, till it is as thick as we need, then pour the
+sand out, and we shall have made a shoe or a boot that will at least
+keep out the damp, and that is more than mine do just now."
+
+Not far from this we came to a bush, the leaves of which were strewn
+with a white dust; and close by were two or three more in the same
+state. I cut a slit in the trunk of one of these, and found it full of
+the white dust, which I knew by the taste to be SA-GO. We took all of
+this that we could get out of the tree, for it would add to our stock
+of food; and when our bags were full we laid them on the back of the
+ass, and set off to find our way back to The Nest.
+
+"Each day brings us fresh wealth," said my wife; "but I think we might
+now try to add to our goods." I knew that she had some fear lest we
+should one day get lost in the woods, or meet with wild beasts, so I at
+once said that we would now stay at home, at least for some days.
+
+My first work was to make some wax lights, for my wife could then mend
+our clothes at night, while we sat down to talk. This done, the next
+task they gave me was to make a churn. I took a large gourd, made a
+small hole in the side, and cut out as much as I could, so as to leave
+but the rind. In this I put the cream, laid a piece on the hole, and
+bound it up so that none could come out. The boys then held a cloth,
+and on it I put the gourd, which they rolled from side to side. They
+kept up this game with great mirth for near an hour, when my wife took
+off the string, and found that the churn had done its work well.
+
+As our sledge was not fit to use on rough roads, my next work was to
+make a cart. I had brought a pair of wheels from the wreck, so that my
+task did not prove a hard one.
+
+While I was thus at work, my wife and the boys took some of the fruit
+trees we had brought with us, and put them in the ground where they
+thought they would grow best. On each side of the path that led from
+The Nest to the Boy's Bridge they put a row of young nut trees. To make
+the path hard we laid down sand from the sea shore, and then beat it
+down with our spades.
+
+We were for six weeks at this and such like work. We were loth to spare
+any pains to make The Nest, and all that could be seen near it, look
+neat and trim, though there were no eyes but our own to view the scene.
+
+One day I told my sons that I would try to make a flight of stairs in
+place of the cane steps with rope sides, which were, to tell the truth,
+the worst part of our house. As yet we had not used them much, but the
+rain would some day force us to keep in The Nest, and then we should
+like to go up and down stairs with more ease than we could now climb
+the rude steps. I knew that a swarm of bees had built their nest in the
+trunk of our tree, and this led me to think that there might be a void
+space in it some way up. "Should this prove to be the case," I said,
+"our work will be half done, for we shall then have but to fix the
+stairs in the tree round the trunk." The boys got up and went to the
+top of the root to tap the trunk, and to judge by the sound how far up
+the hole went. But they had to pay for their want of thought; the whole
+swarm of bees came out as soon as they heard the noise, stung their
+cheeks, stuck to their hair and clothes, and soon put them to flight.
+
+We found that Jack, who was at all times rash, had struck the bees'
+nest with his axe, and was much more hurt by them than the rest.
+Ernest, who went to his work in his slow way, got up to it last, and
+thus did not get more than a sting or two, but the rest were some hours
+ere they could see out of their eyes. I took a large gourd, which had
+long been meant to serve for a hive, and put it on a stand, We then
+made a straw roof to keep it from the sun and wind, and as by this time
+it grew dark, we left the hive there for the night.
+
+Next day, the boys, whose wounds were now quite well, went with me to
+help to move the bees to the new home we had made for them. Our first
+work was to stop with clay all the holes in the tree but one through
+which the bees were wont to go in to their nest. To this I put the bowl
+of a pipe, and blew in the smoke of the weed as fast as I could. At
+first we heard a loud buzz like the noise of a storm afar off; but the
+more I blew my pipe the less grew the sound, till at last the bees were
+quite still.
+
+We now cut out a piece of the trunk, three feet square, and this gave
+us a full view of the nest. Our joy was great to find such a stock of
+wax, for I could see the comb reached far up the tree. I took some of
+the comb, in which the bees lay in swarms, and put it by on the plank.
+
+We then put the gourd on the comb that held the swarm, and took care
+that the queen bee was not left out. By these means we soon got a hive
+of fine bees, and the trunk of the tree was left free for our use.
+
+We had now to try the length of the hole. This we did with a long pole,
+and found it reached as far up as the branch on which our house stood.
+
+We now cut a square hole in that side of the trunk next the sea shore,
+and made one of the doors that we had brought from the ship to fit in
+the space. We then made the sides smooth all the way up, and with
+planks and the staves of some old casks, built up the stairs round a
+pole which we made fast in the ground. To do this we had to make a
+notch in the pole and one in the side of the trunk for each stair, and
+thus go up step by step till we came to the top. Each day we spent a
+part of our time at what we could now call the farm, where the beasts
+and fowls were kept, and did odd jobs as well, so that we should not
+make too great a toil of the flight of stairs, which took us some six
+weeks to put up.
+
+One day Fritz caught a fine EA-GLE, which he tied by the leg to a
+branch of the tree, and fed with small birds. It took him a long while
+to tame, but in time he taught it to perch on his wrist, and to feed
+from his hand. He once let it go, and thought he would have lost it,
+but the bird knew it had a good friend, for it came back to the tree at
+night. From that time it was left free, though we thought that some day
+its love of war and wild sports would tempt it to leave us for the
+rocks of the sea shore, where Fritz had first found it.
+
+Each of my boys had now some pet to take care of, and, I may say, to
+tease, for they all thought they had a fair right to get some fun out
+of the pets they could call their own; but they were kind to them, fed
+them well, and kept them clean.
+
+In what I may term my spare time, which was when I left off work out of
+doors, I made a pair of gum shoes for each of my sons, in the way I had
+told Fritz it could be done. I do not know what we should have done had
+we not found the gum tree, for the stones soon wore out the boots we
+had, and we could not have gone through the woods or trod the hard
+rocks with bare feet.
+
+By this time our sow had brought forth ten young pigs, and the hens had
+each a brood of fine chicks. Some we kept near us, but most of them
+went to the wood, where my wife said she could find them when she had
+need to use them.
+
+I knew the time must now be near when, in this clime, the rain comes
+down day by day for weeks, and that it would wash us out of The Nest if
+we did not make a good roof to our house. Then our live stock would
+need some place where they could rest out of the rain. The thatch for
+The Nest was of course our first care; then we made a long roof of
+canes for our live stock, and on this we spread clay and moss, and then
+a thick coat of tar, so that it was rain proof from end to end. This
+was held up by thick canes stuck deep in the ground, with planks made
+fast to them to form the walls, and round the whole we put a row of
+cask staves to serve for rails. In this way we soon had a barn, store
+room, and hay loft, with stalls for the cow, the ass, and what else we
+kept that had need of a place to live in.
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+FRANK one day found some long leaves, to which, from their shape, he
+gave the name of sword leaves. These he brought home to play with, and
+then, when he grew tired of them, threw them down. As they lay on the
+floor, Fritz took some of them in his hand, and found them so limp,
+that he said he could plait them, and make a whip for Frank to drive
+the sheep and goats with. As he split them up to do this, I could not
+but note their strength. This led me to try them, and I found that we
+had now a kind of flax plant, which was a source of great joy to my
+wife.
+
+"You have not yet found a thing," she said, "that will be of more use
+to us than this. Go at once and search for some more of these leaves,
+and bring me the most you can of them. With these I can make you hose,
+shirts, clothes, thread, rope; in short, give me flax, and make me a
+loom and some frames, and I shall be at no loss for work when the rain
+comes."
+
+I could not help a smile at my wife's joy when she heard the name of
+flax; for there was still much to do ere the leaves could take the
+shape of cloth. But two of the boys set off at once to try to find some
+more of the flax.
+
+While they were gone, my wife, full of new life, and with some show of
+pride, told me how I should make the loom by means of which she was to
+clothe us from head to foot. In a short time they came back, and
+brought with them a good load of the plant, which they laid at her
+feet. She now said she would lay by all else till she had tried what
+she could make of it. The first thing to be done was to steep the flax.
+To do this we took the plant down to the marsh, tied up in small bales,
+as they pack hemp for sale. The leaves were then spread out in the
+pond, and kept down with stones, and left there in that state till it
+was time to take them out and set them in the sun to dry, when they
+would be so soft that we could peel them with ease. It was two weeks
+ere the flax was fit for us to take out of the marsh. We spread it out
+on the grass in the sun, where it dried so quick that we took it home
+to The Nest the same day. It was then put by till we could find time to
+make the wheels, reels, and combs which my wife said that she would
+want to turn our new found plant to its best use.
+
+We now made haste to lay up a store of canes, nuts, wood, and such
+things as we thought we might want; and took care, while it was still
+fine, to sow wheat, and all the grain we had left in our bags was soon
+put in the ground. The fear that the rain might come and put a stop to
+our work led us to take our meals in haste, and to make the days as
+long as we could see. We knew the rain was close at hand, for the
+nights were cold; large clouds could be seen in the sky, and the wind
+blew as we had not felt it since the night our ship had struck on the
+rock.
+
+The great change came at last. One night we were woke up out of our
+sleep with the noise made by the rush of the wind through the woods,
+and we could hear the loud roar of the sea far off. Then the dense
+storm clouds which we had seen in the sky burst on us, and the rain
+came down in floods. The streams, pools, and ponds on all sides were
+soon full, and the whole plain round us met our view as one vast lake.
+By good luck, the site of our house stood up out of the flood, and our
+group of trees had the look of a small isle in the midst of the lake.
+
+We soon found that The Nest was not built so well as we thought, for
+the rain came in at the sides, and we had good cause to fear that the
+wind would blow the roof off. Once the storm made such a rush at it
+that we heard the beams creak, and the planks gave signs that there was
+more strain on them than they could bear. This drove us from our room
+to the stairs in the trunk, on which we sat in a state of fear till the
+worst of the storm was past. Then we went down to the shed we had built
+on the ground at the root of the tree, and made the best shift we
+could. All our stores were kept here, so that the space was too small
+to hold us, and the smell from the beasts made it far from a fit place
+for six of us to dwell in; but it was at least safe for a time, and
+this was of course the first thing to be thought of. To dress our food
+we had to make a fire in the barn, and as there was no place to let out
+the smoke, it got down our throats and made us cough all the day long.
+
+It was now for the first time that my wife gave a sigh for her old
+Swiss home. But we all knew that it was of no use to grieve, and each
+set to work to do all he could to make the place look neat and clean.
+Some of our stores we took up the stairs out of our way, and this gave
+us more room. As we had cut square holes in the trunk of the tree all
+the way up, and put in frames of glass that we got from the ship, my
+wife could sit on the stairs, with Frank at her feet, and mend our
+clothes. Each day I drove from the barn such beasts as could bear to be
+out in the rain. That we might not lose them, I tied bells round their
+necks; and if we found that they did not come back when the sun went
+down, Fritz and I went out to bring them in. We oft got wet through to
+the skin, which gave us a chill, and might have laid us up if my wife
+had not made cloth capes and hoods for us to wear. To make these rain
+proof, I spread some of the gum on them while hot, and this, when dry,
+had the look of oil cloth, and kept the head, arms, chest, and back
+free from damp. Our gum boots came far up our legs, so that we could go
+out in the rain and come back quite free from cold and damp.
+
+We made but few fires, for the air was not cold, save for an hour or
+two late at night, and we did not cook more than we could help, but ate
+the dried meat, fowls, and fish we had by us.
+
+The care of our beasts took us a great part of the day; then we made
+our cakes and set them to bake in a tin plate on a slow fire. I had cut
+a hole in the wall to give us light, and put a pane of glass in it to
+keep out the wind, but the thick clouds hid the sun from the earth, and
+the shade of the tree threw a gloom round our barn, so that our day
+light was but short, and night came on far too soon. We then made use
+of our wax lights, and all sat round a bench. My wife had as much as
+she could well do to mend the rents we made in our clothes. I kept a
+log, In which I put down, day by day, what we did and what we had seen;
+and then Ernest wrote this out in a neat, clear hand, and made a book
+of it. Fritz and Jack drew the plants, trees, and beasts which they had
+found, and these were stuck in our book. Each night we took it in turns
+to read the Word of God, and then all knelt down to pray ere we went to
+bed. Ours was not a life of ease, it is true, but it was one of peace
+and hope; and we felt that God had been so kind to us that it would be
+a great sin to wish for what it did not please Him to grant us.
+
+My wife did all she could to cheer us, and it was no strange thing for
+us to find that while we were out in the rain with the live stock, she
+had made some new dish, which we would scent as soon as we put our
+heads in at the door. One night it was a thrush pie, the next a roast
+fowl, or some wild duck soup; and once in a while she would give us a
+grand feast, and bring out some of all the good things we had in store.
+
+In the course of our stay in doors we made up our minds that we would
+not spend the next time of storm and rain, when it should come round,
+in the same place. The Nest would serve us well in that time of year
+when it was fine and dry, but we should have to look out for some spot
+where we could build a house that would keep us from the rain the next
+time the storms came.
+
+Fritz thought that we might find a cave, or cut one out of the rocks by
+the sea shore. I told him that this would be a good plan, but would
+take a long while to do. By this time the boys were all well used to
+hard work, and they thought they would much like to try their skill at
+some new kind of work.
+
+"Well," said I, "we will go to the rocks round Tent House the first
+fine day that comes, and try to find some place that will serve to keep
+us from the next year's storms."
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+I CAN not tell how glad we all were when we at last saw a change in the
+sky, and felt once more the warm rays of the sun. In a few days the
+floods sank in the earth, and left the ground of a bright green hue;
+the air grew warm and dry, and there were no more dark clouds to be
+seen in the sky.
+
+We found our young trees had put forth new leaves, and the seed we had
+sown had come up through the moist ground. The air had a fresh sweet
+smell, for it bore the scent of the bloom which hung like snow flakes
+on the boughs of the fruit trees; the songs and cries of the birds were
+to be heard on all sides, and we could see them fly from tree to tree
+in search of twigs to build their nests. This in fact was the spring of
+the year, when all things put forth new life; and we knew that the time
+was now come when we could once more range the woods and till the soil,
+and this made the boys leap for joy.
+
+Some planks had been blown off the roof of The Nest, and the rain had
+got in here and there; so our first job was to mend our house, and make
+it fit to sleep in.
+
+This done, Jack, Fritz, and I set out to Tent House. We found it in a
+sad state. The storm had thrown down the tent, blown off some of the
+sail cloth, and let in the rain on our casks, some of which held a
+store of food. Our boat was still safe, but the raft of tubs had broken
+Lip, and what there was left of it lay in splints on the shore.
+
+Our loss in the storm had been so great that I felt we ought at once to
+seek for some place on the rocks where we could put what was left.
+
+We went all round the cliffs, in the hope that we might find a cave,
+but in vain.
+
+"There is no way but to hew one out of the rock", said Fritz, or we
+must not be beat."
+
+"Well said, Fritz," said Jack; "we have each an axe. Why not try this
+cliff at once?"
+
+I gave them leave to try, and we soon set to work at the rock. From
+this spot we had a good view of the whole bay, and could see both banks
+of the stream.
+
+With a piece of chalk I made a mark on the side of the cliff, to show
+the width and height that the cave should be cut. Then each took an axe
+to try what kind of stuff our rock was made of. We found it a hard kind
+of stone; and, as we were not used to this sort of work, we had not
+done much when the time came for us to leave off.
+
+We came back next day, and got on with more speed, though we thought it
+would not take us less than six months to make the cave, if our work
+were done at the same rate each day.
+
+At the end of five or six days we had got through the face of the rock,
+and we found the stone soft. In a day or two more we came to what was
+but hard clay, which gave way at a slight blow from the axe.
+
+"We need not fear now," said I, "for we shall soon have a hole as large
+as we want."
+
+With the earth we took out we made a ridge in front of the cliff. The
+boys now got on so well, and dug so much out, that I had hard work to
+throw up the earth on the bank.
+
+One day, as Jack stuck his pick in at the back of the cave, which was
+now more than eight feet from the front, a great mass of the rock fell
+in, and he cried out, "Look here! I have got through."
+
+"Through what?" said I. "Not through your hand, I hope."
+
+"No, no, but through the rock."
+
+At this, Fritz set up a loud laugh.
+
+"Why not say through the world at once, and push your crow bar in till
+you reach EU-ROPE, which, Ernest says, lies in a straight line from
+our feet. I should like to have a peep down, such a hole, for I might
+thus get a sight of our dear Swiss home."
+
+Fritz and I went up to the wall and found that Jack was right, for he
+had come to a clear space. His first thought was to jump in; but as I
+knew that there might be foul air in the cave, I would not let him risk
+his life.
+
+The boys then set fire to some dry grass, and thrust it in the hole,
+but it went out at once, which was a sure sign that the air was not fit
+to breathe.
+
+I knew that we had brought from the wreck a box full of fire works,
+which were used on board to make signs to ships far out at sea. I sent
+Fritz to Tent House for these, though I thought that they might be too
+damp to make use of. When he came back, I set light to some of them,
+and threw them in the hole. They flew round, and threw out a stream of
+sparks that lit up the cave. When these were burnt out, we put in a
+heap of straw and threw a light on it. This was now soon in a blaze,
+and gave us a clear view of the cave; but it was too deep for us to see
+the end.
+
+Our joy was so great that we sent Jack off home to The Nest to tell the
+good news, and to bring back some wax lights. I did not deem it safe
+for us to go in the cave in the dark, for there might be pools or deep
+dry pits in the ground.
+
+Fritz and I had just thrown up on the bank the last spade full of earth
+that had been dug out, when we heard a loud shout. We got up on the top
+of the cave, and saw that Jack had brought back a tribe at his heels.
+The large cart, drawn by the cow and the ass, came on at a slow pace,
+led by Jack on a black ox, and in it were my wife, Frank, and Ernest.
+
+By the help of a flint and steel I soon lit some of the wax lights, and
+gave one to each. I went in first and led the way, and the rest kept
+close at my back. We had not gone on more than a few steps when we came
+to a dead stop, struck with awe at the grand sight that met our
+view. The walls and roof of the cave were lit up, as it were, with
+star-like gems, while some hung down like glass drops from the roof,
+and some rose up from the ground at its sides like blocks of spar. I
+broke off a piece and put it on my tongue.
+
+"What does it taste like?" said Jack.
+
+"I find," said I, "that we are in a cave of rock salt."
+
+"We shall not have to scrape the rocks to get our salt now," said
+Ernest, "for there is more here than would serve a whole town for a
+lifetime."
+
+When we went back to The Nest that night we laid out a plan for our new
+home, for there could be no doubt that the cave was the best place for
+us to dwell in, though we should still sleep in The Nest when we went
+on that side of the stream.
+
+The next day we all set to work; the floor of the cave was quite
+smooth, and the walls dry, so that we could build at once. We first cut
+holes in the sides of the rock to let in the light, and then brought
+frames and panes of glass from The Nest, and put them in. We then
+brought all the planks and wood we could find, and built a strong wall
+in the midst of the cave. On the right side of this wall we made three
+rooms, two of which were to be used as bed rooms, and one to take our
+meals in. On the left side was a room for my wife to cook in, one to
+work in, to which we gave the name of the shop, and a place with stalls
+in it for our live stock. At the back of these was a store house, where
+we could keep our, stock of food and the whole of our spare goods.
+
+I need not say that it took us some months to do all this, nor that we
+had to toil hard day by day, from morn till night, ere we got to the
+end of our task; but the end did come at last, and then the joy we felt
+that we had done all this with our own hands more than paid us for our
+toil.
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+OUR fields near Tent House had by this time brought forth good crops of
+wheat, maize, beans, and peas; but as the work of the Cave had for some
+weeks kept us on this side of the stream, we did not know in what state
+we should find our crops at The Nest.
+
+One day we all set out for our old home. We found our corn fields of a
+rich brown hue, and saw that the wheat was, for the most part, fit to
+reap. This, and a large patch of rye we cut down, and, as we did so,
+whole flocks of birds took to wing when we got near them, while quails
+were seen to run off at the sight of our dogs, who had no lack of sport
+that day.
+
+We laid by the seed that was quite ripe till the time should come for
+us to sow it, and put the rest in sacks. Some of the wheat was laid up
+in sheaves till we should have time to beat out the grain.
+
+When we left The Nest for the Cave, we could not find the hand mill
+that we had brought from the ship. This now came to light, and we took
+care to pack it up to take with us, as we should want it to grind our
+corn.
+
+That night we slept once more in the great tree; but I must say that we
+did not now sleep so sound there as we used to do, nor did we feel so
+safe as we did in our rooms at Rock House.
+
+The next day we were to start a plan by means of which our live stock
+would not want so much of our care. They had bred so fast that we could
+well spare some of them, and these I thought might be left in some
+place to seek their own food, and yet be in reach should we want them.
+
+My wife took from her hen roost ten young fowls, and I took four young
+pigs, four sheep, and two goats. These we put in our large cart,
+with such tools as we thought we should need, tied the black ox, the
+cow, and the ass to the shafts, and then set off from The Nest.
+
+We had to cross a wide plain, and here we met with some dwarf plants on
+which, as Jack would have it, grew snow balls.
+
+Fritz ran to see what they were, and brought me a twig to which clung
+balls of snow white down. I held it up to show my wife, for I knew the
+sight would please her still more than her sons.
+
+"See," said I, "this is the COT-TON plant, which you have oft tried to
+find. It seems to grow here as thick as weeds, and, if I am a judge, it
+is of the best kind."
+
+We got as much of this as our bags would hold, and my wife took care to
+pluck some of the ripe seed, that we might raise a crop in our grounds
+at Tent House.
+
+At the end of the plain we came to the brow of a high hill, from which
+the eye fell on a view the like of which we had not yet seen. Trees of
+all kinds grew on the sides of the hill, and a clear stream ran through
+the plain at its base, and shone bright in the rays of the sun.
+
+We said at once that this should be the site of our new farm. Close by
+we found a group of trees, the trunks of which, as they stood, would do
+for the main props of the house.
+
+I had long had a mind to build a boat, and here I at last came on a
+tree that would suit. Fritz and I went for a mile or two in search of
+what we could find, and by the time we came back my wife had put up our
+tent for the night. We then all sat down to sup, and went to rest on
+beds made of the bags of the white down that we brought from the trees
+on the plain.
+
+The next day we rose at dawn. The trees which were to form the frame of
+our farm house stood on a piece of land eight yards long by five wide.
+I made a deep cut in each of the trunks, ten feet from the ground, and
+put up cross beams to form a roof, on which we laid some bark in such a
+way that the rain would run off.
+
+We were hard at work for some days at the Farm House. The
+walls we built of thin laths and long reeds, wove close for six feet
+from the ground, but the rest we made of thin cross bars to let in both
+light and air. We made racks to store bay and such like food for the
+live stock, and put by some grain for the fowls, for our plan was to
+come from time to time to feed them, till they got used to the place.
+
+Our work took us more time than we thought; and as our store of food
+got low, we sent Fritz and Jack home to bring us a fresh stock, and to
+feed the beasts we had left at Tent House.
+
+While they were gone, Ernest and I made a tour of the woods for some
+miles round the new Farm. We first took the course of the stream that
+ran by the foot of the hill. Some way up we came to a marsh on the edge
+of a small lake, and here in the swamp grew a kind of wild rice, now
+ripe on the stalk, round which flew flocks of birds. We shot five or
+six of these, and I was glad to note the skill with which Ernest now
+used his gun. I took some of the rice, that my wife might judge how far
+it was of use to us as food.
+
+We went quite round the lake, and saw plants and trees that were not
+known to me, and birds that Ernest said he had not seen in any of the
+woods near The Nest. But we were most struck with the sight of a pair
+of black swans, and a troop of young ones that came in their train.
+Ernest would have shot at them, but I told him not to kill what we did
+not want for use.
+
+We did not get back till late in the day. Jack and Fritz, whom we met
+just as we came round the foot of the bill, had done their task well,
+for they had a good stock of food in a sack that lay on the back of the
+ass, and they brought the good news that all was well at home.
+
+We spent four more days at the Farm, and then left it in such a state
+as to be fit for our use when we chose to go back to it.
+
+The Farm House was but a part of our plan, for we had made up our minds
+to build a sort of half way house, or cot, in which we could rest on
+our way to the Farm. This took us six days to do. The spot we chose lay
+by the side of a brook, and was just such a place as would tempt,
+one to stop and rest in the shade of the trees, that grew on the bank.
+While at the brook, I made a boat out of the tree we found at the Farm,
+and took it back with us to Tent House in the cart.
+
+We had still two months ere the rain would set in, and this left us
+time to put the last touch to our cave. We laid the whole floor with
+clay, and spread on it some fine sand, which we beat down till it was
+quite smooth and firm. On this we put sail cloth, and threw down goat's
+hair and wool made moist with gum. This was well beat, and, when dry,
+made a kind of felt mat that was warm and soft to tread on, and would
+keep the damp from our feet.
+
+By the time these works were done, our cave was in a fit state for us
+to dwell in. We did not now dread the rain, for we were safe out of its
+reach, and there was no need that we should go out in it. We had a warm
+light shop to work in by day, a snug place where we could take our
+meals and dry bed rooms in which we could sleep in peace. Our live
+stock we kept in a shed at the back of the cave, and our store room
+held all that we could want.
+
+When the rain at length set in, we all had some task that kept us close
+at work in the cave. My wife took her wheel or her loom, both of which
+I had made for her, for this kind of work fell to her share from
+choice. By the help of the wheels of one of the ship's guns I had made
+a lathe, and with this I could turn legs for stools and chairs. Ernest,
+too, was fond of the lathe, and soon learned to do such work quite as
+well as I.
+
+At dusk, when we had done our work for the day, we brought out our
+stock of books, and sat down to read by the light of a lamp.
+
+At times, Jack and Prank would play a tune on their flutes, which I had
+made out of reeds; and my wife, who had a sweet voice, would sing some
+of the old Swiss songs, that brought to our minds the joys of home.
+
+Though we were by no means dull, nor in want of work to fill up our
+time, we were glad when the time came for the rain to cease, and when
+we could gaze once more on the green fields. We went out the first fine
+day, and took a long walk by the base of the cliff. On the shore we
+found a dead whale, which the sea had no doubt thrown up in the storm.
+We had long felt the need of oil; for though we had a lamp, we had
+naught but our wax lights to put in it, and these gave a poor light to
+read by. The next day we cut up the whale, and put the flesh in tubs.
+It was far from a clean job, for the oil ran down our clothes and made
+them smell; but as we could change them for new ones, thanks to the
+hemp and my wife's skill, we did not mind that, for the oil was now
+worth more to us than our clothes, though at one time we should not
+have thought so.
+
+One day we all set out on a tour to the Farm. Jack and Frank had gone
+on first, while my wife and I were as yet close to the Cave. All at
+once the boys came back, and Fritz said, "Look at that strange thing on
+its way up the path. What can it be?"
+
+I cast my eye on the spot and cried out, "Fly all of you to the Cave!
+fly for your lives!" for I saw it was a huge snake, or boa, that would
+make a meal of one of us, if we did not get out of its way.
+
+We all ran in doors, and put bars up to the door of the Cave. A large
+dove cote had been made on the roof, and to this we got up through a
+hole in the rock.
+
+Ernest took aim with his gun, and shot at the snake, so did Fritz and
+Jack, but it gave no sign that they had hit it. I then tried my skill,
+but it did not seem to feel my shot any more than theirs, though I was
+sure I must have struck its head. Just as we took aim at it once more,
+we saw it turn round and glide through the reeds in the marsh.
+
+Our fears kept us for three long days in the Cave. The snake gave no
+sign that could lead us to think it was still near, but the ducks and
+geese had left the spot where their nests were, and this we knew to be
+a bad sign. On the fourth day I went to the door, with a view to let
+out some of the beasts to graze, for we were short of food for them.
+The ass was just at my back, and as soon as it saw the light, made a
+rush to get out. Off it went, straight to the sands, with its heels in
+the air, but just as it got to the marsh we saw the boa glide out from
+the reeds, part its wide jaws and make for its prey. The ass at once
+saw
+its foe, but stood still as if struck with fear, and in less time than
+I take to tell it, our old friend was tight in the folds of the boa.
+
+This was a sad sight for all of us, yet we could not take our eyes off
+the snake, but saw it crush the poor beast, and then gorge its prey.
+When it had put the whole of the ass out of sight, it lay down on the
+sand quite still, as if it had gone to sleep or died.
+
+"Now is the time to seal the fate of our foe," said I to Fritz; and
+with that we went out with our guns. When we got near, we both took a
+straight aim, and each put a ball in its head. This made it move with a
+start, and writhe as if in pain.
+
+"See how its eyes glare on us with rage. Now load your gun, and let us
+put a bit more lead in him."
+
+Our next shot went in his eyes. It then shook as with a strong spasm,
+and fell dead on the sand.
+
+A shout of joy brought my wife and the three boys to the spot. The
+state of fear they had been kept in for three whole days had made them
+quite ill, but now the joy of Jack and Frank knew no bounds, for they
+leaped on the snake and beat it as if they would go mad.
+
+My wife said that the death of the boa took a great weight off her
+mind, for she thought it would lie in wait for us near the Cave, starve
+us out, and then kill us as it had done the poor ass.
+
+We slit up the snake, and took out the flesh of the ass, which the boys
+laid in a grave near Tent House. The boa's skin we hung up at the door
+of the Cave, over which Ernest wrote the words, "No ass to be found
+here," which we all thought to be a good joke.
+
+One day late in the spring I went with my three sons a long way from
+the Cave. My wife and Frank were left at our Half Way House, to wait
+till we came back, but the dogs went with us. Our route lay far up the
+course of a small stream, which had its source some miles north of the
+Farm House. The ground was new to us, but we could not well lose our
+way, for on the right stood a hill from which we could see the whole of
+the plain.
+
+
+Ernest had gone with one of the dogs to a cave that he had spied at the
+foot of the hill, but we saw him turn round and run back with Turk at
+his heels. As soon as he thought his voice would reach us, he cried
+out, "A bear! A bear! come to my help!"
+
+We could now see that there were two great beasts at the mouth of the
+cave. At a word from us both the dogs, flew to fight the bear that
+stood in front.
+
+Fritz took up his post at my side, while Jack and Ernest kept in the
+rear. Our first shot was "a miss," as Jack said; but we took a sure aim
+the next time, and both shots told. We would have let fly at them once
+more from this spot, but as we thought we might hit our brave dogs, who
+were now in the heat of a hard fight with their foes, we ran up close
+to them.
+
+"Now, Fritz," said I, "take a straight aim at the head of the first,
+while I fire on the one at his back."
+
+We both shot at once; the bears gave a loud growl, and then, with a
+moan, fell dead at our feet.
+
+As it was now time to go back, we put the bears in the cave, but took
+care to cut off their paws, which form a dish fit to grace the feast of
+a king.
+
+We had a long walk back to the place where I had left my wife. The boys
+told her what a hard fight the dogs had with the bears, and how Fritz
+and I had shot them, and then gave her the paws. With the aid of Frank
+she had fed our live stock and brought in wood to make up our watch
+fire for the night, so we sat down to sup at once, and then went to
+rest.
+
+Next day we put our beasts to the cart and drove as far as the bear's
+den. As we came near to the spot a flock of birds flew out of the mouth
+of the cave, two or three of which Fritz brought down with his gun. It
+took us the whole day to cut up the bears. The hams were laid by to be
+smoke dried; while my wife took charge of the fat and the skins.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+WE had now so much work to do, and the days and weeks came and went so
+quick, that I do not think we should have known the time of year had it
+not been for our log.
+
+Some days were spent at the Cave, where we made our goods, ground our
+flour, stored our food, and kept our tame live stock. Then we had to
+take care of our crops in the fields near The Nest, and this took us
+two or three days in each month. Once in ten days at least we went to
+the Farm on the hill, and at the same time made a call at the Half Way
+House; so that there was not a day that we had not our hands quite
+full. Now and then we went out to hunt for sport or to add to our stock
+of beasts, which had grown so large that there were few we could name
+that had not been caught and brought home. We had birds of the air,
+fowls of the land, and beasts of all kinds' from the great black ox of
+the plain to the small wild RAB-BIT that came and made its hole close
+by our cave.
+
+But there was one bird that we had not yet caught, though we had seen
+it two or three times in the woods. This was the OS-TRICH. Fritz found
+a nest with some eggs in it, and this led us to make a tour with a view
+to catch one of the old birds. We rose that day ere it was light, and
+set out at dawn, each on the back of a good steed.
+
+As we should have to hunt through the woods, my wife was left at home;
+and Ernest, who did not like rough work, chose to stay with her. We
+made it a rule to take one of the dogs with us when we went out to
+hunt, but on this day we thought it wise to let them both come.
+
+Fritz took us straight to where he had seen the nest, which was not
+more than a few miles up the stream. When we came in sight of the spot,
+we saw four great birds, as if on their way to meet us. As they drew
+near we kept the dogs well in, and made no noise, so that they did not
+stop till they came near us.
+
+Fritz had brought his Ea-gle with him, which he now let fly. At one
+swoop the bird came down on the head of the Os-trich, held on with its
+beak, and struck out its wings with great force, as if to stun it.
+
+We now rode up close to the scene of war. Jack first flung a cord round
+the legs of the bird, which made it fall to the ground. I then threw my
+pouch on its head, and, strange to say, it lay down as still as a lamb.
+
+I now tied both its legs with cords, but left it just room to walk. We
+then made it fast to the two bulls that had brought Jack and Frank all
+the way from home, and put one of them on each side. They next got up
+on their steeds, and I took the pouch from the head of the bird. As
+soon as it could see, it gave a wild stare, and then fought to get free.
+
+The boys then put spurs to the flanks of their steeds, and when the
+bird had made a few starts back, as if to try the strength of the cords
+which held it, it set off with a run, and the bulls at each side made
+it keep up a smart pace.
+
+Fritz and I now went in search of the nest, which we soon found. I took
+the eggs from it and put them in a bag I had brought to hold them, in
+which I put some wool and moss, so that they should not break.
+
+It did not take us long to get up to the two boys, who had gone on
+first, and we were glad to find that the poor bird had made up its mind
+to its fate, and kept up well with the pace of the bulls.
+
+When we got in sight of home, my wife and Ernest, who had been on the
+look out for us, came forth to meet us; and the strange way in which we
+brought home our new prize made them laugh. I need not say that we took
+great care of it.
+
+The next day we built it a house, with a space in front for it to walk
+up and down, round which were put rails, so that it could not get out.
+At first it was shy, and would not take any food, so that we had to
+force some balls of maize down its throat; but in a short time it took
+grain from the hands of my wife, and soon grew quite tame.
+
+The boys now set to work to break it in for use. They taught it first
+to bear them on its back. Then they put a pair of string reins in its
+mouth, and made it turn which way they chose to pull, and to walk, or
+run, or stand still, as it was bid. Thus, in a month from the time we
+caught it, the boys made it take them on its back to and from the Farm
+or The Nest, in less than half the time an ox would go; so that it came
+to be the best steed we had to ride on.
+
+The eggs we found in the nest were put in a warm dry place, and though
+we scarce thought our care would bring live birds out of the shells, we
+had the joy to hatch three of them, and this led us to hope that we
+should ere long have a steed for each of our sons.
+
+My work at this time was by no means light. Our hats and caps were all
+worn out, and with skins of the musk cat I had to make new ones. The
+bears' skins were laid in the sun to dry, and of these we made fur
+coats, which would keep us warm when the cold wet nights came round,
+and there were some left to serve as quilts or rugs for our beds.
+
+I now tried my hand at a new craft. I dug some clay out of the bed of
+the stream, and taught the boys to knead it up with sand, and some talc
+that had been ground as fine as road drift. I had made a lathe with a
+wheel, and by its aid the clay left my bands in the shape of plates,
+cups, pots, and pans. We then burnt them in a rude kiln, and though at
+least one half broke with the heat and our want of skill, still those
+that came out whole more than paid me for my toil, and kept up my
+wife's stock of delf. Some of the jars were set round with red and blue
+beads, and these were put on a shelf as works of art, and kept full of
+long dried grass.
+
+The time was now at hand when we must reap our grain and store the ripe
+crops that were still on the ground; and, in fact, there was so much to
+be done, that we scarce knew what to do first. The truth must be told
+that our wants did not keep pace with the growth of our wealth, for the
+land was rich, and we had but a few mouths to fill.
+
+We knew that we might leave the roots in the ground for some time, as
+the soil was dry, but that the grain would soon spoil; so we made the
+corn our first care. When it was all cut and brought home, our next
+task was to thresh it. The floor of our store room was now as hard as a
+rock, for the sun had dried it, and there was not a crack to be seen.
+On this we laid the ears of ripe corn, from which the long straw had
+been cut, and sent the boys to bring in such of our live stock as were
+fit for the work to be next done.
+
+Jack and Fritz were soon on the backs of their steeds, and thought it
+fine fun to make them course round the floor and tread out the grain.
+Ernest and I had each a long fork, with which we threw the corn at
+their feet, so that all of it might be trod on. The ox on which Jack
+sat put down his head and took a bunch of the ears in his mouth.
+
+"Come," said Jack, "it is not put there for you to eat, off you go!"
+and with that he gave it a lash with his whip.
+
+"Nay," said I, "do you not know what God has said in his Word? We must
+not bind up the mouth of the ox that treads out the corn. This brings
+to my mind the fact that the means we now take to thresh our wheat were
+those used by the Jews in the days of old."
+
+To sort the chaff from the grain we threw it up with our spades while
+the land or sea breeze blew strong. The draught which came in at the
+door took the light chaff with it to one side of the room, while the
+grain fell straight to the ground by its own weight.
+
+The maize we left to dry in the sun, and then beat out the grain with
+long skin thongs. By this means we got a store of the soft leaves of
+this plant, which my wife made use of to stuff our beds.
+
+When all the grain had been put in our store room, some in sacks and
+the rest in dry casks, we took a walk one day to our fields, and found
+that flocks of birds, most of which were quails, had come there to
+feed. This gave us a fine day's sport with our guns, and the next year
+we did not fail to look for them, so that the fields were made to yield
+a stock of game as well as a crop of grain.
+
+With but slight change in our mode of life, we spent ten long years in
+our strange home. Yet the time did not seem long to us. Each day
+brought with it quite as much work as we could do, so that weeks and
+months and years flew past, till at last we gave up all hope that we
+should leave the isle or see our old Swiss home, the thought of which
+was still dear to us.
+
+But the lapse of ten years had wrought a great change in our sons.
+Frank, who was but a mere child when we first came, had grown up to be
+a strong youth; and Jack was as brave a lad as one could wish to see.
+Fritz, of course, was now a young man, and took a large share of the
+work off my hands. Ernest had just come of age, and his shrewd mode of
+thought and great tact was as great a help to us as was the strength
+and skill of the rest.
+
+To crown all, it was a rare thing for them to be ill; and they were
+free from those sins which too oft tempt young men to stray from the
+right path. My wife and I did our best to train them, so that they
+might know right from wrong; and it gave us great joy to find that what
+we told them sunk deep in their hearts, and, like ripe seed sown in
+rich soil, brought forth good fruit.
+
+I need not say that in the course of ten years we had made great
+strides in those arts which our wants had first led us to learn. When
+we first came the land near Tent House was a bare waste; now it bore
+fine crops, and was kept as neat as a Swiss farm. At the foot of the
+hill by the side of Rock Cave was a large plot of ground, which we laid
+out in beds, and here we grew herbs and shrubs, and such plants as we
+used for food. Near this we dug a pond, and by means of a sluice which
+led from the stream, we kept our plants fresh in times of drought. Nor
+was this the sole use we made of the pond; for in it we kept small fish
+and crabs, and took them out with a rod and line when we had need of
+food, and time to spare for that kind of sport. In the ground round the
+mouth of the Cave we drove a row of strong canes, bound at the top to a
+piece of wood, so as to form a fence, up which grew a vine, and, at
+each side, plants that threw a good show of gay bloom crept up to meet
+it. Shells of great size and strange shapes were got from the shore,
+and these we built up here and there with burnt clay, so as to form
+clumps of rock work, on which grew ferns and rare plants. All this gave
+a charm to our home, and made the grounds round it a source of joy
+when, we laid by our work for the day. In fact, we thought there was
+now scarce a thing to wish for that we had not got.
+
+Our cares were few, and our life was as full of joy and peace as we
+could well wish; yet I oft cast a look on the sea, in the hope that
+some day I should spy a sail, and once more greet a friend from the
+wide world from which we had been so long shut out. This hope, vague as
+it was, led me to store up such things as would bring a price, if we
+had the chance to sell them; they might prove a source of wealth to us
+if a ship came that way, or would at least help to pay the charge of a
+cruise back to the land we came from.
+
+It is but just to say that the boys did not share my hopes, nor did
+they seem to wish that we should leave the place where they had been
+brought up. It was their world, and the cave, to which we gave the name
+Rock House, was more dear to them than any spot on the earth.
+
+"Go back!" Fritz would say; "to leave our cave, that we dug with our
+own hands; to part with our dear kind beasts and birds; to bid good-by
+to our farms, and so much that is our own, and which no one in the
+world wants. No, no! You can not wish us to leave such a spot."
+
+My dear wife and I both felt that age would soon creep on us, and we
+could not help some doubts as to the fate of our sons. Should we stay
+and end our days here, some one of us would out-live the rest, and this
+thought came oft to my mind, and brought with it a sense of dread I
+could not get rid of. It made me pray to God that He would save us all
+from so dire a fate as to die far from the sound of the voice of man,
+with no one to hear our last words, or lay us in the earth when He
+should call us to our rest.
+
+My wife did not share this dread. "Why should we go back?" she would
+say. "We have here all that we can wish for. The boys lead a life of
+health, free from sin, and live with us, which might not be the case if
+we went out in the world. Let us leave our fate in the hands of God."
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+As Fritz and Ernest were now men, they were of course free to go where
+they chose, and to come back when their will led them home. Thus, from
+time to time they took long trips, and went far from Rock House. They
+had fine boats and strong steeds, and of these they made such good use
+that there was scarce a spot for leagues round that was not well known
+to them.
+
+At one time, Fritz had been so long from home that we had a dread lest
+he should have lost his way, or fallen a prey to wild beasts. When he
+came back he told us a long tale of what he had seen and where he had
+been, and how he had brought with him birds, beasts, moths, and such
+strange things as he thought Ernest would like to see. When he had
+done, he drew me out into our grounds and said he had a strange thing
+to tell me. It seems that he found a piece of white cloth tied to the
+foot of a bird which he had struck down with a stick, on which were
+these words: "Save a poor soul, who is on the rock from which you may
+see the smoke rise."
+
+He thought that this rock could not be far off, and that he ought to
+set off at once in search of it.
+
+"I have a thought," said he; "I will tie a piece of cloth, like that I
+found, to the leg of the bird, and on it I will write, 'Have faith in
+God: help is near.' If the bird goes back to the place from whence it
+came, our brief note may reach the eye of the lone one in the rock. At
+any rate, it can do no harm, and may do some good."
+
+He at once took the bird, which was an AL-BA-TROSS, tied the strip of
+cloth to its foot, and let it go.
+
+"And now," said he, "tell me what you think of this. If we should,
+find a new friend, what a source of joy it will be. Will you join me in
+the search?"
+
+"To be sure I will," said I; "and so shall the rest; but we will not
+yet tell them of this."
+
+They were all glad to take a trip in the large boat, but they could not
+make out why we went in such haste.
+
+"The fact is," said Jack, "Fritz has found some queer thing on the
+coast that he can't bring home, and wants us to see it. But I dare say
+we shall know what it all means in good time."
+
+Fritz was our guide, and went first in his bark boat, or CA-NOE. In
+this he could go round the rocks and shoals that girt the coast, which
+would not have been safe for the large boat. He went up all the small
+creeks we met with on the way, and kept a sharp look-out for the smoke
+by which he would know the rock we came out to find.
+
+I must tell you that once when he came to these parts with Ernest he
+met with a TI-GER, and would have lost his life had it not been for his
+pet Ea-gle. The brave bird, to save Fritz from the beast, made a swoop
+down on its head. Fritz thus got off with a scratch or two, but the
+poor bird was struck dead by a blow from the paw of its foe. This was a
+sad loss to Fritz, for his pet had been a kind friend, and would go
+with him at all times when he went far from home.
+
+There was scarce a spot we came to that did not bring to the mind of
+one of us some such tale as this, so that we were full of talk while
+the boat bore us on.
+
+We had been out some days, but could find no trace of what we went in
+search. I rose from my berth at dawn, and went on deck with Fritz. I
+told him that as we had no clue to the place, we must now give up the
+search. He did not seem to like this, but no more was said. That day we
+spent on shore, and came back to our boat to sleep at night. Next day
+we were to change our course, and trace our way back, for the wind now
+blew from the sea.
+
+When I went on deck next day I found a short note from Fritz, in
+which he told me that be could not give up the search, but had gone
+some way up the coast in his small boat. "Let me beg of you," he wrote,
+"to lie in wait for me here till I come back."
+
+When he had been gone two days, I felt that I ought to tell my wife the
+cause of our trip, as it might ease her mind, and she now had some fear
+lest her son should not be safe. She heard me to the end, and then said
+that she was sure he would not fail, but soon bring back good news.
+
+As we were all on the look-out for Fritz, we saw his boat a long way
+off.
+
+"There is no one with him in the boat," said I to my wife; "that does
+not say much for our hopes."
+
+"Oh, where have you been?" said the boys, all at once, as he came on
+board. But they scarce got a word from him. He then drew me on one
+side, and said, with a smile of joy, "What do you think is the news I
+bring?"
+
+"Let me hear it," said I.
+
+"Then I have found what I went forth to seek, and our search has not
+been in vain."
+
+"And who is it that you have found?"
+
+"Not a man," he said, "but a girl. The dress she wears is that of a
+man, and she does not wish at first that her sex should be known to
+more that we can help, for she would not like to meet Ernest and the
+rest in that state, if they knew that she was a girl. And, strange to
+tell," said Fritz, "she has been on shore three years."
+
+While I went to tell the news to my wife, Fritz had gone down to his
+berth to change his clothes, and I must say that he took more care to
+look neat in his dress than was his wont at home.
+
+He was not long, and when he came on deck he bid me say no word to the
+rest of whom he had found. He leaped like a frog in to his light craft,
+and led the way. We were soon on our course through the rocks and
+shoals, and an hour's sail, with the aid of a good breeze, brought us
+to a small tract of land, the trees of which hid the soil from our view.
+
+Here we got close in to the shore, and made our bark safe. We all got
+out, and ran up the banks, led by the marks that Fritz had made in the
+soil with his feet. We soon found a path that led to a clump of trees,
+and there saw a hut, with a fire in front, from which rose a stream of
+smoke.
+
+As we drew near I could see that the boys did not know what to make of
+it, for they gave me a stare, as if to ask what they were to see next.
+They did not know how to give vent to their joy when they saw Fritz
+come out of the hut with a strange youth, whose slight make, fair face,
+and grace of form, did not seem to match well with the clothes that
+hung upon his limbs.
+
+It was so long since we had seen a strange face, that we were all loth
+to speak first. When I could gain my speech I took our new friend by
+the hand, and told her in words as kind as I could call to my aid, how,
+glad we were to have thus found her.
+
+Fritz, when he bade Ernest and Jack shake bands with her, spoke of our
+new friend as James, but she could not hide her sex from my wife, for
+her first act was to fall on her breast and weep. The boys were not
+slow to see through the trick, and made Fritz tell them that "James"
+was not the name they should call her by.
+
+I could not but note that our strange mode of life had made my sons
+rough, and that years of rude toil had worn off that grace and ease
+which is one of the charms of well-bred youth.
+
+I saw that this made the girl shy of them, and that the garb she wore
+brought a blush to her cheek. I bade my wife take charge of her, and
+lead her down to the boat, while the boys and I stood a while to speak
+of our fair guest.
+
+When we got on board we sat down to hear Fritz tell how he came to find
+Miss Jane, for that was her real name; but he had not told half his
+tale when he saw my wife and her new friend come up on deck. She still
+had a shy look, but as soon as she saw Fritz she held out her hand to
+him with a smile, and this made us feel more at our ease.
+
+The next day we were to go back to our home, and on the way Fritz
+was to tell us what he knew of Miss Jane, for his tale had been cut
+short when she came on the deck with my wife. The boys did all they
+could to make her feel at home with them, and by the end of the day
+they were the best of friends.
+
+The next day we set sail at sun rise; for we had far to go, and the
+boys had a strange wish to hear Fritz tell his tale.
+
+When the boat had made a fair start, we all sat down on the deck, with
+Jane in our midst, while Fritz told his tale to the end.
+
+Jane Rose was born in IN-DI-A. She was the child of one Cap-tain Rose,
+whose wife died when Jane was but a babe in arms. When ten years of age
+he sent her to a first class school, where she was taught all that was
+fit for the child of a rich man to know. In course of time she could
+ride a horse with some skill, and she then grew fond of most of the
+field sports of the East. As the Captain had to go from place to place
+with his troops, he thought that this kind of sport would train her for
+the mode of life she would lead when she came to live with him. But
+this was not to be, for one day he told Jane that he must leave the
+East, and take home the troops. As it was a rule that no girl should
+sail in a ship with troops on board, he left her to the care of a
+friend who was to leave near the same time. He thought fit that she
+should dress in the garb of a young man while at sea, as there would
+then be no need for her to keep in her berth, and he knew that she was
+strong and brave, and would like to go on deck, and see the crew at
+their work. It gave the Captain pain to part with his child, but there
+was, no help for it.
+
+The ship had been some weeks at sea, when one day a storm broke over
+it, and the wind drove it for days out of its course. The crew did
+their best to steer clear of the rocks, but she struck on a reef and
+sprung a leak. The boats then put off from the wreck, but a wave broke
+over the one in which Jane left, and she was borne, half dead with
+fright, to the place where we found her. She had been thrown high up on
+the beach, and though faint and sick, got out of the reach of the
+waves. She did not know if those who were in the boat with her had lost
+their lives, but she had seen no trace of them since.
+
+When she had strength to walk, she found some birds' eggs and shell
+fish, which she ate, and then went in search of some safe place where
+she could rest for the night. By good chance she had a flint and a
+knife; with these she set light to some dry twigs, and made a fire,
+which she did not once let out till the day she left. Her life was at
+first hard to bear, but she was full of hope that some day a ship would
+come near the shore, to which she could make signs for help. The wild
+sports of the East in which she took part had made her strong of limb,
+and she had been taught to make light of such things as would vex most
+of her sex.
+
+She built a hut to sleep in, and made snares to catch birds. Some of
+them she made use of for food, and some she let go with bits of cloth
+tied to their legs, on which she wrote words, in the hope that they
+might meet the eye of some one who could help her. This, as we knew,
+had led Fritz to make his search, the end of which had brought as much
+joy to us as to the young friend who now sat in our midst.
+
+When Fritz had told us this, and much more, we came in sight of Safe
+Bay. He then took Ernest with him in his small boat, and left us to go
+up the stream as fast as he could to Rock House, so as to make the
+place look neat by the time we brought home our guest. The two
+boys--for to us they were still boys--met us on the beach. Fritz, with
+a look of pride, gave his hand to Jane, and I could see a slight blush
+rise to her cheek as she gave him hers. He then led her up the path, on
+each side of which grew a row of young trees, and took her to a seat in
+our grounds. There he and Ernest had spread out a feast of our best
+food--fish, fowls, and fruit, and some of my wife's choice jam--whilst
+our burnt clay plate made a great show on the board, for it was set out
+with some taste. We had a wish to show Jane that, though the coast was
+a wild kind of place, still there were means to make life a joy to
+those who dwelt on it, if they chose to use them. As for Jane, the
+sight of our home, the style of our feast, and the kind words of the
+boys, were things so new to her, that she knew not what to say.
+
+"I shall tell no more than the truth," she said, "when I say that what
+you have shown me is of far more worth than all the wealth I have seen
+in the East, and that I feel more joy this day than I have felt in all
+the days of my life. I can use no terms less strong than these to show
+how much I thank you."
+
+This was just the kind of speech to please the boys, for there had been
+no one to praise their work till now. When the meal was done, my wife
+brought out some of her best wine, and we drank to the health of our
+guest in great state, and with loud cheers. We then made a tour of our
+house and grounds, that Jane might see the whole of the place that from
+this time she was to make her home. It would take me a long time to
+tell what she thought of all she saw, or the neat things she said in
+praise of our skill, as we took her from place to place. My wife's
+room, in which were kept the pots and pans to dress our food, and the
+plates, bowls, and cups, out of which we ate, took her some time to
+view; for she had long felt the want of such things as she now saw we
+had made for our own use out of what we could find.
+
+The next day we all went to The Nest, and when the rainy season came
+round, Jane knew the place quite as well as we did. My wife found in
+her a true friend, for she soon took a large share of the work off her
+hands, and did it with so much skill, and with so strong a wish to
+please us, that we grew to love her as if she had been our own child.
+
+When the time came for us to keep in doors from the rain, the boys
+would oft lay by their work, and sit to hear Jane talk of what she had
+seen in the East, and Ernest and Fritz would read to her by turns such
+books as she might choose. I was glad to see that this wrought a great
+change in my sons, whose mode of life had made them rough in their ways
+and loud in their speech--faults which we did not think of so long as
+there was no one to see or hear them.
+
+When the spring came, the boys went in our boat to the spot where
+they had found Jane, which we now knew by the name of "Jane's Isle,"
+and brought back some beans, which were new to them. These we found to
+be COF-FEE. Jane told us that they were by no means scarce, but that
+she had not made use of them, as she knew no way to roast or grind the
+beans, which she found in a green state.
+
+"Do you think," said my wife, "that the plant would grow here?"
+
+I then thought for the first time how fond she was of it. There had
+been some bags on board the ship, but I had not brought them from the
+wreck; and my wife had once said that she would like to see the plant
+in our ground. Now that we knew where to get it, she told me that it
+was one of the few things that she felt the loss of. When the boys
+heard this, they set out on a trip to Jane's Isle, and while there they
+went to the spot where she had dwelt for so long, and sought for what
+things she had left when she came to live with us.
+
+All these were brought to Rock, House, and I may tell you that Fritz
+set great store by them. There were all sorts of odd clothes, which she
+had made of the skin of the sea calf; fish lines wrought out of the
+hair of her head; pins made from the bones of fish; a lamp made out of
+a shell, with a wick of the threads which she had drawn from her hose.
+There were the shells she used to cook her food in; a hat made from the
+breast of a large bird, the tail of which she had spread out so as to
+shade her neck from the sun; belts, shoes, and odd things of a like
+kind.
+
+My wife, who had now a friend of her own sex to talk with, did not feel
+dull when the boys left us for a time, so they had leave to roam where
+their wish led them, and to stay as long as they chose. In the course
+of time they knew the whole of the isle on which we dwelt. Ernest drew
+a map of it to scale, so that we could trace their course from place to
+place with ease. When they went for a long trip they took some doves
+with them, and these birds brought us notes tied to their wings from
+time to time, so that we knew where they were, and could point out the
+spot on the map.
+
+I will not dwell on what took place now for some time, for I find that
+each year was very much like the last. We had our fields to sow, our
+crops to reap, our beasts to feed and train; and these cares kept our
+hands at work, and our minds free from the least thought of our lone
+mode of life.
+
+I turn to my log as I write this, and on each page my eye falls on some
+thing that brings back to my mind the glad time we spent at Rock House.
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+IN the spring time of the year, when the rain was past, Fritz and Jack
+set off on a trip in their boat to Shark Isle. The day was fine, the
+sky clear, and there was no wind, yet the waves rose and fell as in a
+storm.
+
+"See!" cried Jack, "here comes a shoal of whales. They will eat us up."
+
+"There is no fear of that," said Fritz; "whales will do us no harm, if
+we do not touch them." This proved to be the case. Though any one of
+them might have broken up the boat with a stroke of its tail, they did
+not touch it, but swam by in a line, two by two, like a file of troops.
+
+On Shark Isle, near the shore, we had thrown up a mound, and built a
+fort, on which were set two of the ship's guns. These the boys made a
+rule to fire off, with a view to let us know that they were safe, and
+to try if the guns were still fit for use. This time they found their
+charge quite dry, and the guns went off with a loud bang.
+
+They had just put a plug in the hole of one of the guns, to keep out
+the wet, when they heard a sound roll through the air.
+
+"Did you bear that?" said Jack. "I am sure that noise must have come
+from some ship at sea. Let us fire once more."
+
+But Fritz thought they ought to go home at once and tell me what they
+had heard. They both ran to the boat with all speed, and put out their
+strength to reach home ere the sun went down.
+
+The day was fine, and as the rain had kept us in doors for two months,
+we were glad to go down on the beach for a change. All at once I saw
+the boys come up the stream in their boat, at a great speed, and the
+way they used their sculls led me to think that all was not right.
+
+"What have you seen, that should thus put two brave youths to flight?"
+said I.
+
+Then they told me what had brought them back so soon. I had heard the
+sound of the two guns which they had fired off, but no more. I told
+them I thought their ears must be at fault, and that the sounds they
+had heard were no more than those of their own guns, which the hills
+had sent back through the air. This view of the case did not at all
+please them, as by this time they well knew what sounds their guns made.
+
+"It will be a strange thing," said I, "if the hope to which I have so
+long clung should at last come to be a fact; but we must have a care
+that we do not hail a ship the crew of which may rob and kill us for
+the sake of our wealth. I feel that we have as much cause to dread a
+foe as we have grounds of hope that we may meet with friends."
+
+Our first course was to make the cave quite safe, and then to mount
+guard where we could see a ship if one should come near the coast. That
+night the rain came down in a flood, and a storm broke over us, and we
+were thus kept in doors for two days and two nights.
+
+On the third day I set out with Jack to Shark Isle, with a view to seek
+for the strange ship which he said he knew must be in some place not
+far from the coast. I went to the top of a high rock, but though my eye
+swept the sea for miles round, I could see no signs of a sail. I then
+made Jack fire three more shots, to try if they would give the same
+sound as the two boys had heard. You may judge how I felt, when I heard
+one! two! three! boom through the air.
+
+There was now no room for doubt that, though I could not see it, there
+must be a ship near Shark's Isle. Jack heard me say this with great
+glee, and cried out, "What can we now do to find it?"
+
+We had brought a flag with us, and I told Jack to haul this up twice to
+the top of the staff, by means of which sign those who saw it would
+know that we had good news to tell them.
+
+I then left Jack on the fort with the guns, and told him to fire as
+soon as a ship hove in sight. I bent my way at once back to Rock House,
+to talk with my wife, Jane, and the boys, as to what steps we should
+now take. They all met me on the beach, and made me tell them the news
+while I was still in the boat.
+
+"We know no more," said I, "than the fact that there is still a ship on
+the coast. You must all now keep in doors, while Fritz and I go in
+search of it."
+
+We set off at noon, and went straight to the west part of the coast,
+where we thought the sound must have come from. We knew a cape there
+from which we could get a good view of the sea, and by the side of
+which lay a small bay.
+
+When we got round the cape, great was our joy to find a fine ship in
+the bay. It was not far off from us, for we could see the ENG-LISH flag
+float in the breeze from one of its masts. I seek in vain to find words
+by means of which I can set forth in print what I then felt. Both Fritz
+and I fell on our knees and gave thanks to God that He had thus led the
+ship to our coast. If I had not held him back, Fritz would have gone
+into the sea with a leap and swum off to the ship.
+
+"Stay," said I, "till we are quite sure what they are. There are bad
+men on the seas who put up false flags to lure ships out of their
+course, and then rob and kill the crew."
+
+We could now see all that took place on board. Two tents had been set
+up on the shore, in front of which was a fire; and we could see that
+men went to and fro with planks. There were two men left on guard on
+the deck of the ship, and to these we made signs. When they saw us they
+spoke to some one who stood near, and whom we thought had charge of the
+ship. He then put his glass up to his eye and took a good view of us
+through it.
+
+We did not at first like to go too near, but kept our boat some way
+off. Fritz said he could see that the faces of the men were not so dark
+as our own.
+
+"If that be the case," said I, "we are safe, and we may trust their
+flag."
+
+We both sang a Swiss song, and then I cried out at the top of my voice
+these words: "Ship ahoy! good men!" But they made no sign that they
+heard us. Our song, our boat, and, more than all, our dress, made them
+no doubt guess that we were wild men of the wood; for at last one of
+the crew on board held up knives and glass beads, which I knew the wild
+tribes of the New World were fond of. This made us laugh, but we would
+not as yet draw nigh to the ship, as we thought we ought to meet our
+new friends in our best trim.
+
+We then gave a shout and a wave of the hand, and shot off round the
+cape as fast as our boat would take us. We soon got back to Rock House,
+where our dear ones were on the look-out for us. My wife said we had
+done quite right to come back, but Jane thought we should have found
+out who they were.
+
+That night none of us slept well; our guest thought there might now be
+a chance for her to reach her home, and she dreamed she heard the
+well-known voice of her sire call her to come to him. The boys were
+half crazed with vague hopes, and lay for hours ere they went to sleep.
+My wife and I sat up late to think and talk of the use that might be
+made of this chance. We felt that we were now full of years, and should
+not like in our old age to leave the place where we had spent the best
+part of our lives; still we might do some trade with the land from
+which the ship came, if it were but known that we were here, and we
+might hear news of our dear Swiss home.
+
+At break of day we put on board our boat a stock of fruit and fresh
+food of all kinds, such as we thought the crew of the ship would like
+to have, and Fritz and I set sail for the bay. We took with us all the
+arms we could find, so as not to be at a loss should the crew prove
+false to their flag, and turn out to be a set of thieves.
+
+As we drew near the ship I fired a gun, and told Fritz to hoist a flag
+like theirs to the top of our mast, and as we did so the crew gave a
+loud cheer. I then went on board, and the mate of the ship led me to
+his chief, who soon put me at my ease by a frank shake of the hand. I
+then told him who we were, and how we came to dwell on the isle. I
+learned from him, in turn, that he was bound for New South Wales; that
+he knew Captain Rose, who had lost his child, and that he had made a
+search for her on the coast. He told me that a storm had thrown him off
+his course, and that the wind drove him on this coast, where he took
+care to fill his casks from a fresh stream that ran by the side of a
+hill, and to take in a stock of wood.
+
+"It was then," he said, "that we first heard your guns; and when on the
+third day the same sound came to our ears, we knew that there must be
+some one on the coast, and this led us to put up our tents and wait
+till the crew should search the land round the bay."
+
+I then made the crew a gift of what we had brought in our boat, and
+said to Captain Stone, for that was his name: "I hope, sir, that you
+will now go with me to Rock House, the place where we live, and where
+you will see Miss Rose, who will be glad to hear some news of home."
+
+"To be sure I will, and thank you much," said he; "and I have no doubt
+that Mr. West would like to go with us." This Mr. West was on his way,
+with his wife and two girls, to New South Wales, where he meant to
+build a house and clear a piece of land.
+
+We all three then left the ship in our boat, and as we came in sight of
+Shark Isle, Jack, who was on the fort, fired his guns.
+
+When we came to the beach, my wife and the rest were there to meet us.
+Jane was half wild with joy when she heard that Captain Stone had
+brought her good news from home.
+
+We led them round our house and through the grounds and Mr. West took
+note of all he saw. When we came to talk, I found that he had made up
+his mind to stay with us. I need not say how glad I was to hear this,
+for he had brought out with him a large stock of farm tools, of which
+we had long been in want.
+
+The boys were of course in high glee at all this, but I did not share
+their joy so much as I could wish. The ship which now lay close to our
+shore was the first we had seen since we came to the isle, and no one
+could tell when the next might come. My wife and I did not wish to
+leave. I had a love for the kind of life we led, and we were both at an
+age when ease and rest should take the place of toil. But then our sons
+were young--not yet in the prime of life--and I did not think it right
+that we should keep them from the world. Jane, I could tell, would not
+stay with us, nor did she hide from us the fact that her heart drew her
+to the dear one at home, from whom she had been kept so long. So I told
+my wife that I would ask my boys to choose what they would do--to stay
+with us on the isle, or leave with Captain Stone in the ship.
+
+Fritz and Jack said they would not leave us; Ernest spoke not a word,
+but I saw that he had made up his mind to go. I did not grieve at this,
+as I felt that our isle was too small for the scope of his mind, and
+did not give him the means to learn all he could wish. I told him to
+speak out, when he said he should like to leave the place for a few
+years, and he knew Frank had a wish to go with him.
+
+I thought this would give my wife pain, but she said that the boys had
+made a good choice, and that she knew Ernest and Frank would make their
+way in the world.
+
+Captain Stone gave Jane, Ernest, and Frank leave to go with him, as
+there was room in the ship now that the Wests were to stay with us.
+
+The ship was brought round to Safe Bay, and Fritz and Jack went on
+board to fetch Mrs. West and her two girls, who were glad to find that
+they were not to go back to the ship, for the storm had made them dread
+the sea.
+
+I may here say, by the way, that my wife soon found that her two sons
+grew fond of their fair friends, and gave me a hint that some day we
+should see them wed, which would be a fresh source of joy to us.
+
+I have not much more to tell. The stores I had laid up--furs, pearls,
+spice, and fruits--were put on board the ship, and left to the care of
+my sons, who were to sell them. And then the time came for us to part.
+I need not say that it was a hard trial for my wife; but she bore up
+well, for she had made up her mind that it was all for the best, and
+that her sons would some day come back to see her. I felt, too, that
+with the help of our new friends, we should not miss them so much as we
+at first thought, and this we found to be the case.
+
+As the next day my boys were to leave me, I had a long talk with them.
+I told them to act well their part in the new sphere in which they were
+to move, and to take as their guide the Word of God. They then knelt
+down for me to bless them, and went to their beds in Rock House for the
+last time.
+
+I got no sleep all that night, nor did the two boys, who were to start
+the next day.
+
+As Ernest takes this Tale with him--which I gave him leave to print,
+that all may know how good God has been to us--I have no time to add
+more than a few words.
+
+The ship that is to take from us our two sons and our fair guest will
+sail from this coast in a few hours, and by the close of the day three
+who are dear to us will have gone from our midst. I can not put down
+what I feel, or tell the grief of my poor wife.
+
+I add these lines while the boat waits for my sons. May God grant them
+health and strength for the trials they may have to pass through; may
+they gain the love of those with whom they are now to dwell; and may
+they keep free from taint the good name of the Swiss Family Robinson.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON TOLD IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE ***
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