The next morning, a party was sent in search of the man, and some were sent to fetch a supply of young gannets for our dinner. The latter brought back with them as many young birds as would suffice for two or three days; but of the three who went in quest of the missing man, only two returned. They reported that they could gain no tidings of him: that they had missed one of their own number, who had, no doubt, gone in pursuit of his shipmate. This intelligence occasioned a great deal of anxiety, and many surmises. The most prevalent opinion seemed to be that there were wild beasts on the island, and that our poor friends had become a prey to them. I determined, the next morning, to go in search of them myself, taking one or two chosen men with me. I should have mentioned, that when we left the sinking vessel, we had taken out a poodle dog, that was on board--first, because I would not allow the poor animal to perish; and, secondly, because we might, if we had no better food, make a dinner of him. This was quite fair, as charity begins at home. This faithful animal became much attached to me, from whom he invariably received his portion of food. He never quitted me, nor followed any one else; and he was my companion when I went on this excursion. We reached the summit of the first mountain, whence we saw the goats browsing on the second, and meant to go there in pursuit of the objects of our anxious search. I was some yards in advance of my companions, and the dog a little distance before me, near the shelving part of a rock, terminating in a precipice. The shelf I had to cross was about six or seven feet wide, and ten or twelve long, with a very little inclined plane towards the precipice, so that I thought it perfectly safe. A small rill of water trickled down from the rock above it, and, losing itself among the moss and grass, fell over the precipice below, which indeed was of a frightful depth. This causeway was to all appearance safe, compared with many which we had passed, and I was just going to step upon it, when my dog ran before me, jumped on the fatal pass--his feet slipped from under him--he fell, and disappeared over the precipice! I started back--I heard a heavy squelch and a howl; another fainter succeeded, and all was still. I advanced with the utmost caution to the edge of the precipice, where I discovered that the rill of water had nourished a short moss, close and smooth as velvet, and so slippery as not to admit of the lightest footstep; this accounted for the sudden disappearance, and, as I concluded, the inevitable death of my dog.