"I did not," replied Philip; "but I have been here." "I recollect, now," replied the man; "you were the only survivor of the _Ter Schilling_, which was lost in False Bay." "Not the only survivor," replied Philip; "I thought so myself, but I afterwards met the pilot, a one-eyed man, of the name of Schriften, who was my shipmate--he must have arrived here after me. You saw him, of course?" "No, I did not; no one belonging to the _Ter Schilling_ ever came here after you, for I have been a settler here ever since, and it is not likely that I should forget such a circumstance." "He must, then, have returned to Holland by some other means." "I know not how.--Our ships never go near the coast after they leave the Bay; it is too dangerous." "Nevertheless, I saw him," replied Philip, musing. "If you saw him, that is sufficient: perhaps some vessel had been blown down to the eastern side, and picked him up; but the natives in that part are not likely to have spared the life of a European. The Caffres are a cruel people." The information that Schriften had not been seen at the Cape, was a subject of meditation to Philip. He had always an idea, as the reader knows, that there was something supernatural about the man, and this opinion was corroborated by the report of the settler. We must pass over the space of two months, during which the wrecked seamen were treated with kindness by the settlers, and, at the expiration of which, a small brig arrived at the Bay, and took in refreshments: she was homeward bound, with a full cargo, and being chartered by the Company, could not refuse to receive on board the crew of the _Vrow Katerina_. Philip, Krantz, and the seamen embarked, but Captain Barentz remained behind to settle at the Cape. "Should I go home," said he to Philip, who argued with him, "I have nothing in this world to return for. I have no wife--no children--I had but one dear object, my _Vrow Katerina_, who was my wife, my child, my everything--she is gone, and I never shall find another vessel like her; and if I could, I should not love it as I did her. No, my affections are buried with her; are entombed in the deep sea. How beautifully she burnt! she went out of the world like a phoenix, as she was. No! no! I will be faithful to her--I will send for what little money I have, and live as near to her tomb as I can--I never shall forget her as long as I live. I shall mourn over her, and 'Vrow Katerina,' when I die, will be found engraven on my heart."