"A breeze from the eastward!"
A dark line was seen suddenly advancing over the shining ocean, it
increased in width, the whole surface became rippled with tiny wavelets.
The sail blew out, the raft glided on more rapidly than it had hitherto
done. The comparatively fresh air restored strength to the almost
exhausted occupants of the raft. The shore rose before them, and their
eyes were gladdened by a bright cascade falling over the rocks, and in a
bubbling stream making its way to the ocean. How intensely they longed
to reach the land! A small bay opened out before them, towards which
Langton steered the raft, until at last it grounded on the smooth sandy
beach.
Langton and Owen, who were the strongest, assisted their companions to
land. They could do no more. While Mike and Nat sank down on the
ground, unable to move further, they crawled rather than walked on
towards the waterfall. In a few minutes, though it seemed a long time
to them, the stream came in sight. Even then, with difficulty, they
could reach it. Stretching themselves out, with their hands in the cool
water, they eagerly drank the refreshing fluid, which seemed to put new
life into them. They rose to their feet. They had not forgotten their
companions. How was the water to be carried? They had neither hats nor
shoes. On the beach lay several large shells. They selected two, which
appeared perfectly clean, and filling them with water hurried back to
where they had left Mike and Nat.
The former was making signals, and pointing to the boy, who appeared to
be unconscious. Owen put the water to his lips, and sprinkled his face.
He opened his eyes, and as the water trickled down his throat he began
to revive. In a few minutes he seemed himself again and could sit up.
Their thirst satisfied, they were assailed by the pangs of hunger. As
there was abundance of shell-fish they had no fear of starving, while
the woods they hoped would afford them fruit of some sort. They soon
found on some rocks on one side of the bay an ample supply of
shell-fish. Mike at once began to eat them raw.
"Stay!" exclaimed Langton. "Let us refrain until we have cooked them,
when they are less likely to do us harm."
"But how are we to get a fire?" asked Owen.
"I have a burning glass in my pocket," said Langton.
Dry sticks were soon collected, and some moss, which ignited almost
immediately the glass was held over it. A bright fire was kindled. The
shell-fish were cooked, Langton having selected those which appeared to
him most likely to prove wholesome.
"We are better off here than we were on the sand-bank," observed Mike.
"We escaped from that, and we'll be afther getting away from this before
long."
While he was speaking Owen happened to turn his eyes to the southward.
"A sail! a sail!" he exclaimed.
Just rounding a point of the island which had hitherto hid her from
sight appeared a large ship, the heads of her courses already rising
above the horizon.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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