Part 10 (1/2)

”It seems to me that daylight is breaking,” I remarked.

”We shall soon know all about the matter, then; only I do wish we could get something to eat,” said Halliday.

”So do I; but there is no use talking about it,” I observed.

”I am not much afraid of starving,” said Boxall. ”We may hope to find oysters, or some other sh.e.l.l-fish, in the lagoon. I am more anxious about water; but even that we may possibly find by digging in the sand.”

Ben, overcome with fatigue, still slept on, undisturbed by our voices.

I agreed with Boxall that he required rest even more than we did, and we therefore determined not to arouse him till daylight.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

BEN'S DREAM--AN UNPLEASANT DISCOVERY--A SEARCH FOR WATER--FRIENDS OR FOES?--BOXALL'S INGENIOUS MODE OF OBTAINING A LIGHT--OUR COMPANION SPIRITED AWAY.

We lay on the ground, watching the stars gradually disappearing in the sky overhead, and still unwilling to awake Ben, who slumbered on, completely overcome by the fatigue he had endured for the last few days.

At length the sun, like a huge ball of fire, rose above the region of sand-hills stretching out to the eastward. It was time therefore for us to get up and obtain a supply of pork from the store we had left on the beach, as also to commence a search for water. We called to Ben; who, starting to his feet, rubbed his eyes and looked wildly about him, as if not quite certain where he was.

”I mind all about it now,” he said, slapping his leg. ”But, bless me, how I should like to have snoozed on: for I was dreaming that I was away back in Old England, in my sister Susan's cottage, with the youngsters playing about in front of the porch, and Betsy Dawson--who has promised to marry me when I next get back--just coming in at the door to have a cup of tea and a quiet chat; and I was putting out my hand to take hers, when I found myself clutching a heap of sand.”

Poor Ben scarcely seemed to be aware that he was speaking aloud, for when he heard our voices he cast a bewildered look at us. We did not laugh at him, however,--that you may depend on.

”Well, well, Ben, we must be prepared for a good many trials and disappointments; but I hope that we shall all meet them like men,” said Boxall.

”Yes, sir, that we will; and I am ready for anything that turns up,”

said Ben, giving himself a shake. ”We want water and we want food, in the first place, I suspect.”

”The water, I have a notion, we can get by digging, as we did on the sand-bank the other day; and as for food, it's hard if the sea does not give us something to eat, besides the pork,” observed Boxall.

The hot sun having quickly dried our wet clothes, we felt, as we began to move, in somewhat better spirits. We soon reached the spot where we had left the cask,--being guided to it by the remains of the raft on the beach. Halliday was the most hungry, and ran on first.

”Hallo, the cask has been overturned; and what has become of the pork?”

he exclaimed, as he began hunting about in the sand. ”That monster of a hyena must have been here; and I am afraid the brute has not even left us enough for breakfast.”

We hurried on, and speedily joined in the search.

”Here is a piece, fortunately, jammed between the staves,” said Halliday, dragging forth the remnant of a joint of pork.

”We may be thankful to get even that,” said Boxall.

We hunted round in every direction, but a couple of gnawed bones, with scarcely any flesh on them, were the miserable remains of the provision on which we had depended.

”There can be no doubt about the hyena being the thief,” I observed.

”I am very sure of it,” said Boxall. ”Even had we buried the pork several feet deep, the creature would have dug it up; for the brutes are said sometimes to visit graveyards, and there to disinter human bodies unless carefully covered up with heavy stones.”

I shuddered, and felt but little inclined to eat the meat which the animal had left us. However, Ben was not so particular, and offered to take the bones as his share--by which arrangement he got a larger amount than either of us. Hunger had compelled us to eat the pork raw; and this having the natural effect of increasing our thirst, we agreed to lose no time in looking for water.

The staves of the cask furnished us with tolerable implements for digging; and would serve us also for weapons of defence, in default of better. We fortunately had our knives, and as the wood was hard, we could shape them into wooden swords and sharpen the edges. So we at once began to search for a spot where a little verdure might tempt us to dig. For this purpose we scattered about, agreeing to keep in sight of each other, and the person who first found a likely spot was to wave his stave above his head.