Part 10 (1/2)
”Oh! don't speak in that way, Mr Devereux,” cried Paul, taking the other's hand; ”you are not acting as you advise us to act We er than I at first thought it was”
”I have no wish to die, but still I do not feel as if I should recover,”
answered Devereux, in a feeble voice ”If I do not, and you should get hoo to my father and mother and sisters, and to tell theht to it should have the fortune, and that I said I would rather dig or plough all my days than enjoy what is not my own”
Paul had little doubt as to what Devereux was thinking of; still he did not like to ask him to be more explicit, so he replied--
”I ae, so pray do not ask me to convey it”
Devereuxto converse Paul earnestly wished that O'Grady would return, or that Devereux would give hiht be found further in the interior Devereux, whose eyes had been shut, at last looked up
”Oh, for a glass of water, Gerrard! None but those who have been placed as we are know its true value,” he whispered
”Let e shell a few yards off; it will carry as er, I observe in the distance some shrubs or low trees, and I cannot but hope that water will be found near theo,” said Devereux; ”but take care that you can find ain”
Paul looked about, and saw a s on to the beach
Without hesitation, he ran into the water to bring it out He seized the prize, and was dragging it on shore, when a large monster darted towards him He struck out the spar with all his force in the direction of the creature It was aled, with his face down, into the water; but he held onback He just saw a pair of fierce eyes, ts of sharp teeth, and a glance of white skin, convincing him that he had narrowly escaped from the jaws of a ravenous shark He felt also that he had additional cause for thankfulness at having escaped the sharks when he and his co helplessly tuht ”Poor Alphonse and the rest! what has been their fate?” he thought He did not tell Devereux of his narrow escape; but planting the pole in the sand, with a handkerchief tied to the top of it, he set off towards the spot where he hoped to find water
Devereux wished hiain,” he said, as Paul left hiround was coetation The spot where he had left Devereux was the su looked as if it had been recently covered by the sea The trees were much farther off than he had fancied The heat of the sun increased; he felt very weak and hungry, and it ith difficulty that he could o on, poor Mr Devereux will die of thirst, and water must be found,” he said to hi
A famous word is that _must_ We _ht not to be done Paul struggled on in spite of the heat, and thirst, and hunger, and weariness, and the strange creatures which crawled out fro the hot sand He had no ti on the side of another bank, and what had seemed mere shrubs in the distance, now assuroup of tall cocoa-nut trees ”Should there be no water below, I shall find ill be alht Paul, as he hurried on, alerness to reach the spot The sand, however, seemed deeper and hotter than any he had before traversed
Below the cocoa-nut trees there were low shrubs and soe These indicated water without doubt He ran on He stopped and hesitated
There was a long, low building, capable of holding a number of persons
If it was at present occupied, what reception could he expect to e Caribs, and buccaneers, and pirates, and he thought that, possibly, the people in the hutevery moment to see some one come out of the hut ”I am but a boy, and however bad they may be, they will not hurt me; and I must have the water at all events--for water there must be, or the hut would not have been built on that spot”
Saying this, he hurried on, treading lightly, ”The people et the water and be aithout any one seeing ht He passed the door of the hut Before him appeared a tank cut in the coral rock, with the pure clear water bubbling up in thedown, he quickly washed out his shell, and then took a long, delicious draught He felt as if he could never take enough He did not forget his co how little the shell could carry, his eye fell on an iron pot by the side of the tank He stooped down and filled it, and was carrying it off, when the door of the hut opened, and a woolly head with a hideous black face popped out, and a voice which sounded like a peal of thunder, the roll of a led in one, shouted out to hi away, Paul turned round and asked the negro what he wanted The latter only continued growling as before, and lanced at the can Paulit back He, however, did not venture within grasp of the unattractive-looking negro, who showed no inclination to follow him The reason was soon apparent, for, as the black came rather more out of the doorway, Paul perceived that he had lost both his legs, and stood upon tooden stu inside the hut, and Paul concluded, therefore, that the black was its only in individual, he had made a circuit, and as he looked about to ascertain the direction he was to take, he discovered that he was near the head of a long narrow lagoon, or gulf, which ran up from the sea He had no tiet back to Devereux He ran on as fast as he could without spilling the water He thought that he knew the way He stopped He feared that he had mistaken it He looked back at the tall cocoa-nut trees, and wished that he had brought some of the fruit with hiot it, and that the black, ain he stopped, fearing that he staff could nowhere be seen ”Poor Mr Devereux! ill become of him should I miss him?” he said frequently to hih the heavy sand At last the looked-for signal appeared above the top of a bank Devereux was lying where he had left him, but seemed unconscious of his approach ”Was he asleep--or, dreadful thought! could he be dead?” He ran on, nearly spilling the precious water in his eagerness He called Devereux did not answer He knelt down by his side His eyes were closed, and his arms were helplessly stretched out like those of the dead Paul h apart to pour soreat joy, Devereux opened his eyes
”Where is O'Grady?” he asked, and then continued--”Ah! Gerrard, is that you? Where did you get the water? It is delicious! delicious!”
In a short time Devereux appeared to be sufficiently recovered to understand as said to hi hi towards them He arrived almost breathless, with his arround
”I have had hard work to get them, but there is no lack of more on the lee side of the island, so we shall not starve,” he exclai, as we have noa fire When we have broken our fast, I will tell you what I have seen”
Although raw fish and cold water was not luxurious fare, the party were thened by it, and after a time Devereux declared that he felt able to acco, or in the direction O'Grady had been They came to the conclusion that the island was inhabited; for O'Grady had seen so, which he took for people, on a rock at some little distance froone there in a canoe for the purpose of fishi+ng
It was finally agreed that they would go towards the rock, and endeavour to gain some information as to the island on which they had been cast, which they were not likely to obtain from the black Paul had seen at the hut Devereux had h with the help of his shi+pot on faster than could have been expected They made a shorter cut than O'Grady had taken, and were soon opposite the rock on which he fancied that he had seen some people
”There are two ht was the keenest of the party ”Who can they be?”
The three lads hurried on, as fast as Devereux's weakness would allow, to the beach
”I thought so There can be no doubt about it,” cried Paul ”They see us They are ns to us There is Alphonse, and Reuben Cole, and old Croxton How can they get to us?”