“Good-morning, sister; I hope you rested well,” was his cheerful, smiling greeting, as he carefully set the basket down and dropped the cooking utensils, and stretched his cramped arms. “Thanks to your kind guardianship, very well,” said Britomarte, cordially. “You are staring at that basket, Judith,” said Justin, laughing. “Well, I have been to the ship, and brought off some provisions for breakfast. The greater part of the ship’s stores are spoiled by the wetting they got in the storm; but still there is a considerable quantity, which, from its position, escaped injury.” The breakfast was very leisurely eaten. It was a pleasure to linger over that _tête-à-tête_ meal; and it was prolonged as much as possible. When it was over, Britomarte and Justin withdrew from it, leaving Judith to her undisputed privilege of washing up the service. “The first thing to be done,” said Justin, as they walked apart, “is to provide shelter. There is no time to be lost before it is done. The grotto, it is true, is better than the open sky, and it is well enough at night.” This grotto was at the inland base of that long mountain that Justin crossed in coming from the causeway to the center of the island. It was entered by a hole about seven feet high by three broad. Around this hole, and up the entire side of the mountain, the whole surface was richly clothed with a thicket of shrubs and saplings wherever they could find root hold in the soil between the rocks, and it presented a most beautiful appearance. In front of the grotto was the small natural opening in the woods, where our little party had made their fire and eaten their breakfast. Passing in through this hole of the rock, or doorway of the grotto, as it might be called, Justin and Britomarte found themselves in a spacious cave, of oval form and great natural beauty. The floor was nearly level, and the walls rose in the form of a dome, in the top of which was a fissure that let in the sun; and floor and walls were all of the most brilliant white stone, that reflected back the sunlight with the lustre of frosted silver. The whole size of the place was about that of a large family drawing-room. “It is a palace for a fairy!—a bower for a queen!” said Justin, in admiration. And then they turned and left the grotto to look after Judith. CHAPTER XVI. SAVING THE STORES. “The next thing to do,” said Justin, as they joined Judith at the fire, “is to get all the stores from the wreck. After I have secured them I may bring away as much of everything else that may be useful to us as I can move before the ship breaks up.” “It is a great labor that you propose for yourself,” said Britomarte, gravely. “An absolutely necessary labor, and therefore to be undertaken and accomplished,” replied Justin, smiling. “You must let us take our share of the work.”