John threw himself behind a large rock which gave shelter from the chill wind, and there he lay for an hour or more before he could gather sufficient strength to walk. When he arose the night was falling and a driving rain had set in. A brief survey of the little island satisfied him that it was uninhabited. With that knowledge he faced the prospect of a night in the open air under the beating rain. What might lie beyond that he did not care to surmise. VI. DARKNESS AND DAWN A lonely night with cold, wet and hunger--John falls over a goat and is heartened--A friendly ship and rescue--John sails with Captain La Roche in the Britaine--Learns how to navigate a ship and handle big guns--La Roche cruises in search of adventure--Falls in with a Venetian argosy--The Venetian fires a shot and draws blood--A fierce fight in which the Britaine is finally victorious--John is landed in Piedmont with a fat purse--He journeys to Gratz and secures an introduction to the leaders in the Archduke’s army--Gives an exhibition of superb horsemanship and is appointed ensign in the regiment of Earl Meldritch. Cold and hungry, wet and weary, John spent what seemed to him to be an endless night, pacing about to keep his blood in circulation. He dared not sleep, for that would be to court death, and so he could find no relief from his gloomy thoughts in the pitchy darkness. Here he was on an unoccupied island and here he might remain until starvation--but no, he would not believe that Dame Fortune, who had so often displayed a kindly disposition towards him, proposed to desert him in this extremity. “My faith!” said John, speaking aloud to hearten himself, whilst he drew his waistband tighter. “If the good dame knows aught of the craving of my stomach she will surely hasten her ministrations. Would I had saved my shoes or e’en my swordbelt! Leather, though not o’er palatable I ween, will, so I have read, keep life in one’s body for a spell but one can scarce eat fustian.” Here John’s soliloquy was suddenly interrupted as he tripped over an object lying in his path. As he lay upon the ground he heard some animal scampering away in the darkness. “A goat!” said John, when he had recovered from his surprise. “Where there is one goat, there are two. And where there are two goats, there is a she-goat. And where there is a she-goat, there is milk. My lady,” he continued, rising and making a low bow, “your humble servant will do himself the honor of calling upon you as soon as decency and light permit.” This incident cheered our hero as it relieved his mind of the chief anxiety that beset it. He had no wish to shirk the accidents and hardships of life; in fact, he rather enjoyed them, but the thought of death is naturally repugnant to a robust youth and especially to one full of ambition and love of action. He was always of a philosophic turn of mind, and as he reflected on the recent incident the significance of it caused him to smile.