The children remarked the suddenness of nightfall, for indeed there had been little or no twilight. This convinced me that we must be not far from the equator, for twilight results from the refraction of the sun's rays: the more obliquely these rays fall, the farther does the partial light extend; while the more perpendicularly they strike the earth, the longer do they continue their undiminished force, until, when the sun sinks, they totally disappear, thus producing sudden darkness. CHAPTER II. A morning consultation--Breakfast--Away on an expedition--Over the stream and through the grass--An unexpected reinforcement--Search in vain for our comrades--Rest by a stream--Fritz finds a "round bird's nest"--Natural history of a cocoanut--Calabash trees--The use of gourds--How to make a bottle--A lovely but lonely scene--Sugar-canes--Monkeys of use--Cocoanut milk turned to champagne--Turk kills an unfortunate mother monkey--Carry the orphan home--Display our treasures--A sumptuous supper--Ernest's penguin--Champagne turned to vinegar--A fight with jackals--A curious sentinel--A visit to the wreck--We rig our craft--Stow a cargo--Sleep on board--Floats for our herd--We embark--Encounter a shark--Land--Relate our adventures. We should have been badly off without the shelter of our tent, for the night proved as cold as the day had been hot, but we managed to sleep comfortably, every one being thoroughly fatigued by the labors of the day. The voice of our vigilant cock, which, as he loudly saluted the rising moon, was the last sound I heard at night, roused me at daybreak, and I then awoke my wife, that in the quiet interval while yet our children slept, we might take counsel together on our situation and prospects. It was plain to both of us that, in the first place, we should ascertain if possible the fate of our late companions, and then examine into the nature and resources of the country on which we were stranded. We therefore came to the resolution that, as soon as we had breakfasted, Fritz and I should start on an expedition with these objects in view, while my wife remained near our landing-place with the three younger boys. "Rouse up, rouse up, my boys," cried I, awakening the children cheerfully. "Come and help your mother to get breakfast ready." "As to that," said she smiling, "we can but set on the pot, and boil some more soup!" "Why, you forget Jack's fine lobster!" replied I. "What has become of it, Jack?" "It has been safe in this hole in the rock all night, father. You see, I thought, as the dogs seem to like good things, they might take a fancy to that, as well as to the agouti." "A very sensible precaution," remarked I. "I believe even my heedless Jack will learn wisdom in time. It is well the lobster is so large, for we shall want to take part with us on our excursion to-day."