Palm Tree Island

  CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH

  OF THE DISCOMFITURE OF THE SAVAGES, AND THE UNMANNERLY BEHAVIOUR OF OURGUESTS

  There we were then, I say, sixteen seamen and our two selves, withLittle John, cooped up in a house built for two, with no air nor lightbut what came through the small loopholes in the walls. It wasdesperately unpleasant; at least, I found it so; as for the seamen,maybe they felt it less, being accustomed to the closeness of 'tweendecks, though to be sure they had lived an open life for so long thatthey had almost had time to forget the forecastle of the _Lovey Susan_.There was a great babblement among them, congratulating one another ontheir lucky escape and on their having found quarters, cursing thesavages very heartily, and hoping they would now sheer off. I do notremember that I heard a word of thanks to us for helping them, exceptfrom poor Mr. Bodger, who came to me and, in a manner more meek andquiet even than when he was aboard the _Lovey Susan_, said it was likeheaven to find me again, after the terrible life he had led among theseamen. It was from him I learnt what I have already related about themen's doings on the island where they landed, and of what had happenedsubsequently to their last visit to us, which was as follows. They hadgone to one of the islands to the westward which they had seen from theslopes of our island, and made friends with the savages there, whichthey were able to do because, having firearms, the savages thought tomake use of them in warfare against their enemies. For a time theseamen lived right royally among them, having food and quarters oncondition of this military service; but becoming insolent and puffed upwith their own importance, they presently offended the savages, andcrowned their misdeeds with refusing to fight any more for them, whichthey did because their ammunition was running short. Learning from asavage girl that had a partiality for Pumfrey that the tribe wereminded to enslave them, they determined to slip away by night in theirboat, and come back to our island, to see whether their notions aboutit were well founded, I mean as to the scarcity of food on it; and theydid this, but their departure was discovered before they had gone veryfar, and with the morning light they saw that they were pursued bytheir infuriate employers.

  [Sidenote: Besieged]

  Mr. Bodger did not tell me all this, and what I have related before, atone time, because we were too busy watching the proceedings of thesavages, and debating about them, to hold long discourse undisturbed.The issue of their deliberations appeared to be that they would make noattempt to carry our defences by main force, which indeed would havebeen a hopeless undertaking, but to invest us strictly, being no doubtconfident in their numbers to overwhelm us when we should issue forth,as we must some time do, when the pressure of hunger compelled us. Thewhole body of them split up into five little camps of about forty meneach, who posted themselves in a half-circle about the front side ofthe hut, and out of range of the seamen's muskets. One of these camps,however, was placed, very likely out of bravado, a good deal nearer toour hut than the rest, and Hoggett declared with an oath that he wouldhave a shot at them, only he did not care to waste the powder, hisstock being all but gone. "Where's Brent?" cries he. "_MisterBrent_," says Billy at once. "Is that there young scum of a Bobbina-talking?" cries Hoggett. I caught Billy's arm to keep him fromanswering, fearing lest Hoggett should deal brutally with him; andHoggett said with a laugh, "Where's _Mister_ Brent, then?" "What isit?" said I. "Send one of your arrows amongst those reptiles, willyou?" says he, in a tone that I did not at all relish, so that I was onthe point of taking him up pretty sharply, only I thought better of it,for what was the use of making a bother when there were so many ofthem? Indeed, I was already not a little disturbed in my mind,foreseeing that if the fellow would put on this insolency of bearing sosoon, we should go through rough water presently. However, to comeback to my story. I was not at all disposed to shoot an arrow atHoggett's bidding; yet I thought it were a good thing to show thesavages that we had our eyes on them; so I said, "Billy, maybe you willkindly show Hoggett what you can do." "Do you bid me, master?" saysthe boy: I call him "boy," though he was at this time, I suppose,eighteen or nineteen years old. "I ask you, Billy," said I: whereuponhe took his bow and an arrow, and went to one of the loopholes, andthere was pretty nearly a fight among the men for places at the others,for there were not enough for all of them. As for myself I could seenothing, but I heard the twang of the bow-string, and immediatelyafterwards a great shout of laughter from the men, which Billy told mewas occasioned by the sudden leaping up of the savages among whom thearrow fell, and their scuttering like rabbits to a safer distance. Ido not doubt their amazement, for their own bows were small comparedwith ours, and had not near so long a range.

  "Well shot, Billy!" cries Clums, the cook of the _Lovey Susan_, and agood-tempered man on the whole, but a perfect child in the hands ofHoggett, who was angered by his praise of Billy, and sharply bade him"hold his jaw." "Why didn't you make a window in this cursed hole?" hecried; "I can't see nothing." "We'll open the door," said I, "forthey're out of range now, and we can shut it again before they getnear." Accordingly we opened it, and I was very thankful for the freshair, and the men, spying in one corner the little pile of cocoa-nutsthat we usually kept there, seized upon them, and in their haste todrink the juice broke them carelessly, so that a good deal was spilled."Give me water instead of that muck," cried Hoggett; "maybe Mr. Brentwill kindly show us what he can do that way," and having thus mocked mehe shouted a great guffaw, which some of the men imitated, though oneor two looked ill-pleased. I had much ado, I assure you, to command mytemper, but I did command it, and afterwards remembered a saying of myuncle, that to lose your temper is to give a weapon to your enemy. Ishowed Hoggett our water-pot, and bade him be sparing, for that was allwe had, and he answered with an oath that he would drink as much as hepleased; but Chick then spoke up, bidding him not to be a greedy swine,and Hoggett growled out some answer; but I observed that he did notdrink much, and so I learnt, what I afterwards confirmed, that Chickhad some sway over Hoggett, I suppose from his speaking little, butalways to the point.

  We thought it prudent to shut the door when night fell, in spite of thecloseness of the atmosphere; and I never in all my life spent sohorrible a night. Some of the men, I know not who, took our pillows,so that Billy and I were no better off than the most of them, and welay side by side on the floor, except when we took our turn atwatching, for the whole company was divided into watches as on boardship. We knew that the savages kept watch also, for we saw the glow oftheir camp fires, and Billy said he wished he could have seen how theymade the fire, he having never ceased to feel disappointment because hehad failed in that particular. There was nothing to disturb us duringthe night, but I rose in the morning so sick and miserable that Ithought I should die if I had to endure the like again. We opened thedoor as soon as it was light, and quaffed the air as if it was nectar;and the seamen having roused up, clamoured for breakfast, and soonfinished all the cocoa-nuts we had in the house; and they took off thelid of our great breadpan, as we called it, and seeing the bread-fruitpaste there, cried out to know what it was, and when I told them,nothing would satisfy them but that Billy should take some of it out toour oven, which was near the hut, and the fire still smouldering.There was little danger in Billy's doing this, because the savages werestill at too great a distance for their arrows to reach us, and if theycame nearer he would have time to run indoors; but I did not like hisacting as servant to these men, and said so, whereupon Hoggett askedfiercely whether the boy was not a stowaway, and who was he to put onairs, and he would show him, and so forth; and I thought it was betterfor the sake of peace and quietness that Billy should cook a littlebread for them.

  There we were, cooped up all that day, and before night all our foodand water were gone, and the men grew very testy, and in a mostunreasonable manner turned their vexation on Billy and me, demandingwhy we had brought them into the hut to starve. To this I found myselfquite unable to frame a suitable answer, being perfectly overcome withthe sheer ingratitude of the men; but when it was dark I
said thatBilly and I would go out and get some water and also a few cocoa-nuts.I did not purpose to go out by the door at the front of the hut, but tocut a hole in the slope of the roof facing the lake, that side notbeing watched at all by the savages. It was no very long business tomake a hole of the right size, the seamen's cutlasses aiding our owntools, which they scoffed at a good deal. But when we were on thepoint of going forth, Clums asked me where I should get the water, andwhen I said from the lake he begged and prayed me not to do so, becausehe said it griped them so horribly. However, I told him that boilingit was a means of making it harmless, and then he said go, and "Godbless you!" which was an exceeding strange saying on his lips, whichwere commonly cursing and swearing. Billy and I went out through thehole, and the men handed out pails, and with these we went down to thelake, and filled them, and returned, the savages being no whit thewiser. And the pails being let down, the men kindled a small fire onthe earthen floor, so as to boil the water, while we went into thewoods to gather some cocoa-nuts. We talked on the way about thestrange change which had come over the posture of our affairs,wondering very much what the issue might be. The savages would nodoubt contrive to subsist on plants which we had never used for food,and if they went a-prowling they would discover our plantation of yams;but we had already dug up the most of these and stored them in ourcellar with the bread fruit, and I could not think there was enoughfruit left on the trees to support so large a throng of savages for anyconsiderable period. Still, there was enough to last them until wewere all starved, unless we disclosed our secret store below the hut,which I was exceeding loath even to think of.

  This second night was not quite such a torture as the first, the holein the roof giving us the much-needed ventilation; but next day the menwere more quarrelsome than ever, and I was in a constant fear lest theyshould set to work to break each others' heads, which might have rid usof some arrant rascals, it is true, but it might also have put an endto Billy and me. They vented some of their ill-temper on Little John,who had not taken kindly to them, and showed himself so exceedingfierce when they kicked him, that they would have killed him only Iprevented them. The savages had made no other attack on us, butneither had they given any sign of removing themselves; rather thecontrary, indeed, for they never let their fires out, and they hadstarted to build themselves little shelters at the edge of the cliffs.Hoggett began to talk of sallying forth and seeing if we could not worksuch mischief among them as would send them packing, and thoughWabberley and Mr. Bodger were the loudest against this, Wabberleywaxing most movingly eloquent in describing the dangers of the planproposed, the others were so desperately weary of the situation thatthey consented to accompany Hoggett, the time chosen for the attemptbeing just after it became dark. But while we were waiting aspatiently as we might for the day to end, it came into my head that wemight find the fizzy rock as efficacious in scaring the savages as ithad been with the seamen; and since Billy and I had gone out and comein safely the night before, we might issue forth on this coming night,and get enough of the rock to make a very good smoke in the morning.While Billy and I were consulting about this in whispers, one of themen--I think it was Pumfrey--proposed that we should all steal out atdead of night, and creep down to the boat and the canoes, and make offin the darkness, leaving the savages marooned on the island. Thisnotion at first met with acceptance from some, but Chick, who saidlittle ordinarily, spoke up very strongly against it, arguing thatthere was little chance of all of us getting to the shore unperceived,and asking how we knew the canoes were not guarded. He said also, verypertinently, that if we did get away, we could not take all the canoes,and the savages, when they discovered our departure, would set off inchase, and being more expert with the paddles they would soon overtakeus, we having now next to no powder and shot for the guns; and toclinch it all, he said that if we were caught in the open it waskingdom come for all of us, on which Wabberley declared that Chick wasvery obliging in putting the case so plainly, and he for one would liveand die with Chick. Whereupon I said there was no need for any one todie, at least not yet, and offered to go out with Billy in the middleof the night and put in action the plan I had formed for driving thesavages away. Hoggett and some of the rest looked at me with greatsuspicion, and Hoggett said, "How are you going to do it?" and Ihesitated at first whether to tell him; but reflecting that he wasbound to know I told him that we had the means of making a great smokeand smother, and so might delude the savages with the belief that themountain was active. There was a very grim look on Hoggett's facewhen, silencing some of the men who were beginning to speak, he askedagain how we could make that smoke and smother, and I saw no use inattempting to conceal it, and so told him about the extraordinary rockwe had discovered. His eyes glittered as I was speaking, and when Ihad ended he would not suffer the other men to speak a word, but bademe do as I had said. "Do it proper," says he, "and we'll see."

  [Sidenote: The Savages are Scared]

  Accordingly, in the deep time of night Billy and I clambered outthrough the hole in the roof and set off with our spades up themountain side, to dig out enough rock to make a big smoke as soon as itwas light. Billy said it was a pity I had told the men about the rock,and he was sure harm would come of it; but I showed him that our casecould scarcely be worse than it was, shut up in a narrow compass withsuch unpleasant companions, and that if we drove the savages from theisland we should at least have liberty of movement, and as for what wasto happen after, we must leave it to Providence, at the same timesaying that the seamen would surely not remain long on the island whenthey found it was not very plentiful in food, so far as they couldtell. "That's all very well, master," says Billy sorrowfully; "butthere's enough to keep 'em until the fruits begin to ripen again, andthere's all our pigs and fowls, which they'll eat up as sure as a gun,and we shan't be able to breed no more. Still, I don't see what we cando, unless we poison the whole lot of 'em, same as we did the monsters,and I suppose you won't agree to that." I said that I would not, andthen reminded Billy that we had triumphed over many difficulties anddangers in our four years' residence on the island, and I did not inany way despair of coming safely through this present predicament; andso we went on up the mountain side, not hurrying or taking anyparticular care, for we knew the savages would not be in this part ofthe island, having a very wholesome dread of the volcano.

  Being come to the place where the deposit of fizzy rock was, we workeda great quantity of it loose with our spades, and carried it to theneighbourhood of the springs, where by the dawn we had two great heaps.As soon as it began to be light we threw the rock bit by bit into thewater, Billy at one spring and I at the other, being careful to keepout of sight from below, for we knew that every eye in the camps of thesavages would be turned to the mountain as soon as they saw the smoke.It happened that the cloud of steam over the summit was somewhat denserthan it had been the day before, which was all in favour of our design.We were favoured, too, by the stillness of the air, for, there being nowind, the fumes that rose from the rock hung about the mountain and didnot float away, though that was also a disadvantage to us, inasmuch aswe could not avoid the poisonous stench. We had to hold our breath andrush into the smoke in order to keep the springs constantly fed withthe rock, and I began to feel very ill, and, going to see how Billy wasfaring, I observed that his skin was a greenish colour, and so I badehim to desist and to come with me and peer over to see whether ourtrick had wrought upon the savages as we hoped it would. We saw thatthey were standing in a great throng watching the smoke; but they didnot as yet appear to be infected with panic, which, when I thought ofit, I considered to be due to the absence of the rumbling noises thatcommonly accompanied the action of the volcano. Since we could not inany way make such a noise as would counterfeit the natural rumbling, Iracked my brains to think of any other means by which we might workupon them the beginnings of fright, for I was sure that if we couldonly start them it would not be long before panic fear got hold ofthem, and then it would sweep them
away. Running back to my spring, tocast more rock into it, I observed that there were some big boulders alittle higher up, below the edge of the crater, that appeared to beinsecurely poised. They were at the top of a gentle slope, which fellaway afterwards into a sheer precipice several hundreds of feet indepth. I wondered whether the boulders I have mentioned could be seenfrom the savages' camp, and creeping up the slope to see, I found thatthe savages were quite out of sight; whereupon I hastened down toBilly, and after throwing into the springs enough rock to last a goodwhile, we went together to the top of the slope, and shoving with allour strength against one of the boulders, we set it rolling down. Themoment we had started it we went to another, and so on, until there wasa sort of cascade of rocks sliding down the slope and then plungingover the edge and crashing down at the foot of the precipice, the soundcoming very faintly to our ears.

  Though we chose only the smaller of the boulders, the larger beingutterly beyond our strength to move, the haste with which we workedmade us very hot and weary, and when we paused to rest for a moment wethought we heard shouts of alarm from below, and then all of a suddenthere was silence. Heaving over one more boulder we hastened down tothe place from which we could see the savages while ourselves unseen,and when we got there they had all vanished. "We've done it, master,"said Billy, panting, "and much good 'twill be to us." But I was by nomeans sure that the savages had actually gone, thinking that maybe theyhad merely shifted their quarters; accordingly I did not think itproper to go down at once towards our hut, but remained for some whilelonger feeding the springs with the rock. However, when we were againfeeling very sick because of the fumes, and went to some distance forpurer air, we caught sight of the fleet of canoes making for thewestward, the savages paddling with great energy; and being very joyfulat the success of our stratagem, though somewhat apprehensive of whatwas to ensue, we descended the mountain-side and came again to our hut.The seamen had already issued from it, and were standing on the cliffswatching the departing canoes; but as we approached them we observedsigns of discontent and anger among them, instead of the gladness weexpected. And when we came to them several of them cried out that thesavages had taken their boat, and now they were marooned; and Hoggettcame up to us with a very truculent mien, and said that he now knew howwe had tricked him when he first came to the island--I mean on hisfirst visit to us--and he wanted to know what we meant by it, and butfor us he might have stayed on the island with his mates and livedhearty, instead of near starving as he had done, and we had better nottry no more tricks on him, or he'd show us, and a great deal more tothe like effect, with plentiful oaths and very foul language. Iaffected to laugh it off, saying that at any rate our trick had clearedthe island of savages, whereupon he broke out again: "Yes," says he,"and they've robbed us of our boat; and now we've got to stop here, andgoodness knows how we'll live, for you two fools ain't had the sense togrow enough for all of us. I want my breakfast, I do, and there ain'tnothing in that there cabin, and you'd better look alive and get mesomething, or I may come to eating you." This speech made me veryindignant, when but for us Hoggett and the rest would without doubthave been butchered by the savages; but since it was plain that we wereto live with him and them I saw that no good would come of quarrelling,so I laughed again, and said if he was patient he might have abreakfast of pork and potatoes (by which I meant yams) and maybe an eggor two, unless the savages had scared our hens from laying; and helooked very well pleased at this, and called to the other men, tellingthem what the breakfast was to be, and then he stuck his hands in hispockets and swaggered off among them, saying to us as he went not to belong about it, because he was hungry.

  Billy fairly gnashed his teeth as we went to our hut. He was much moreput about than I was, resenting on my behalf the domineering airs thatHoggett put on. "There you are," says he, "what did I say? This ain'tour island no more. You ain't the king, and I ain't the prince, orwhatever you call it, but it belongs to Hoggett."

  "Oh no, it doesn't," said I; "Hoggett doesn't become the owner justbecause you and I, to humour him, give him his breakfast."

  "Breakfast!" says Billy scornfully; "yes, breakfast, and dinner, andsupper, and bites in between; and as for humouring him, you might aswell humour one of they monsters we poisoned, he'll only squeeze youthe harder."

  [Sidenote: Dreams]

  I laughed at Billy, for I believed that by showing ourselves friendlywe should gain the friendliness of the men, so that, if we weredestined to live on the island together, we might form a peaceable ifnot a happy community. I dreamt of a little republic, in which allshould have tasks corresponding to their talents, so that what littlelabour was required should fall very lightly on individuals. I dreamtalso of making a boat large enough to carry us all, and sailing awaysome day to England, or at least to some place where we should fall inwith an English ship. And I dare say in these my day-dreams I sawmyself as the head of this little republic; not an autocrat, but akindly and benevolent protector, to whom the others would look up,knowing that his whole heart was set on their good. It was in thisframe of mind that I willingly helped Billy to prepare a sumptuousrepast for the men, slaying a pig and several fowls, and boiling yamsand eggs. They ate with mighty good appetite, and I am sure thoroughlyenjoyed the meal, though Wabberley did grumble in the middle of it,because we had no beer. Some of them mocked and jeered at our clumsycrockery and other utensils; but Clums spoke up for us on this point,saying that a pot was good enough if it didn't run out, and he onlywished he had had such things in the island where they had been.

  [Sidenote: Mr. Bodger]

  For the rest of that day the men roamed about the island, and one ortwo of them plucked up courage to climb the mountain, though theyturned back before they came to the crater. They discovered ourplantation of yams, and were pleased to express approval of the mannerin which we had fenced it in, and Pumfrey said it must be enlarged now,for we could not grow enough there to feed them all. This brought hometo me the fact that our solitude was henceforth to be peopled, andthough I might please myself with dreams of ruling over a littlerepublic, I own I felt a sort of regret that the happy life Billy and Ihad led together was encroached on and perturbed, a feeling which grewinto positive abhorrence before the day was out. The men camepunctually back to the hut for meals, and Clums, who was a good-naturedfellow if he was let alone, lent a hand to their preparation, so thatthe work did not fall wholly on Billy and me. And it was during thelatter part of the day that I heard from Mr. Bodger more particulars ofthe miseries of his life on their island. They had saved him at thefirst, it appeared, merely because they thought his seamanship might besome time useful to them, but when he never had an opportunity of doinganything in that way they used to taunt him, and ask him why he hadn'tstuck to Captain Corke and Mr. Lummis, and dealt very evilly with himin many ways. It was plain to me that not only had he no authorityover them, such as a ship's officer ought to have, but that he went inmortal terror of Hoggett, so that if it came to a tussle betweenHoggett and me I could expect no help from Mr. Bodger.

  I observed during the day that there were always some of the men in thehut, or reclining against the wall outside, and it came into my headthat they were guarding it, so that Billy and I could not barricadeourselves in it as we had done before, and keep them out. I smiled atthis, for having let them in of my own accord, and under no compulsion,I did not think of going back on this, even though the savages weredeparted. I thought we should not be so discommoded at night, becausewe had not only the hole in the roof, but could also keep the dooropen, there being no longer any fear of molestation by wild dogs. Inmy mind I was planning to build other huts, as soon as I could persuadethe men to it, so that Billy and I might have our own to ourselves,which was very much to be desired, considering what stores we hadbeneath it, and the access to our canoe, now laid up in Dismal Cave.But just before dark, when we had had our supper out in the open, andwere thinking of turning in, and I came with Billy to the doorway ofthe hut, there
was Hoggett standing in it with his elbows stuck out andhis legs a-straddle, and Wabberley and Chick just behind him. He didnot offer to move aside for me, on which I smiled and said we had notforeseen that he would be our guest or we might have made the doorwaywider; and then he took a step forward, Wabberley and Chick moving intothe doorway, and thrusting his head out until his nose nearly touchedmine, he said, very loud: "Look 'ee here, you Brent," says he, "thishere place is now mine, d'ye see? and I'm a-going to let in my friendsand no one else, and to-night I'm not a-going to have any one in butMr. Chick and Mr. Wabberley and one or two more, and you two youngfellows can just rig up a bunk outside, along with Bodger and the rest."

  "That's rather a poor return for hospitality, isn't it, Mr. Hoggett?" Isaid as pleasantly as I could, though I was raging inside.

  "I don't want none of your fine talk, Brent," says he, "and as forBilly Bobbin, if he makes those eyes at me I'll knock his head off."

  "No, you won't," says Billy, nimbly stepping back out of reach. Itappeared that he had not been able to keep out of his eyes the furywhich burnt within him.

  Hoggett glared at him, and called him foul names, and then turning tome he cried: "I've said my say, and I tell you if I catch you insidethis cabin to-night or any time, I'll flay you alive. You hear that,Mr. Chick?"

  "I do," says Chick.

  "You hear that, Mr. Wabberley?" says Hoggett again.

  "I do," says Wabberley.

  "Well, then, Brent has had fair warning, more'n he gave me," saysHoggett, "when he sent an arrow through the fleshy part of my arm."

  "That's a lie," cried Billy; "you had more warning than I'd give you."

  [Sidenote: Turned Out]

  Hoggett in a fury caught up a musket that stood against the wall, andwas presenting it at Billy, but I knocked it up, and bade him, in avery different tone from what I had used as yet, have a care. Heseemed surprised at my firmness, and put down the musket, and then,seeing that the other men had come up, and were standing at watch in alittle knot, I turned to them, with the intent to appeal to their senseof justice, believing that if I could once get them to break away fromHoggett's dominance all might be well. But I had not spoken a dozenwords when Hoggett, who, as his words had shown, was longing to pay offhis score against me for wounding him that time, aimed a blow at me,which, however, I saw coming out of the corner of my eye, so that I wasready for it, and parrying it with my left arm, I dealt him such a blowupon his body that he fell doubled up at the doorway. In a momentChick sprang across him, cutlass in hand, and made for me, andWabberley came after him, and Hoggett called on the other men to seizeme; and though Billy sprang instantly to my side, I saw that the oddswere too great against us, and that we had better run for it. Istepped back just in time to escape Chick's cutlass, and at the sametime Billy thrust his foot in front of Wabberley, so that the big mancame down very heavily on his face; and then we sprinted across thedrawbridge, and pulled it after us, so that the men that pursued uswere brought up on the brink of the moat, and could do no more thanshake their fists and curse us. Billy and I went on leisurely withLittle John, who had come after us, and considering what we should dowe determined to betake ourselves to the thicket on the slope of themountain, and it was quite dark before we got there. We made ourselvesas comfortable as we could for the night, being strangely reminded ofour first coming to the island and the fears and terrors of that time;but we had no such disquietude of mind now, and I think in our heartswe were both glad to have broken with the seamen. When I reproachedmyself for not having the presence of mind to resume possession of ourhut immediately after the savages had departed, Billy said it wouldn'thave been much good, because the seamen could not choose but stay onthe island, their boat being gone, and things would have come to prettymuch the same pass; but he had no sooner said it than he let forth asharp cry of dismay: "Our canoe, master!" And then I remembered that,having laid our canoe up in the cave, we had no means of getting toher, now that the entrance to the cavern was barred, for we could notclimb down the face of the cliffs, nor had we any other boat or raft tocarry us there by sea. This was a very staggering situation to be in,and Billy said it was a shame that after we had been so happy all theseyears we should have all our troubles over again. Sleep overtook usbefore we saw any way out of our difficulties, which stared us in theface when we opened our eyes to the new day.

  "I DEALT HIM SUCH A BLOW THAT HE FELL DOUBLED UP AT THEDOORWAY."]