Willy soon assisted his friend to get on his feet; but when they looked round for the seals, not one was to be seen; the sound of the rifle and the doctor's and Willy's voices had put the whole family to flight. The worthy doctor, after shaking himself, discovered, to his infinite satisfaction, that no bones were broken, and in a short time was able to scramble up the rocks again, to continue his search for water. Their worst anticipations were realised; not a spot was found which gave the slightest indication of there being water below it. The rock had been searched throughout, and all hands returned to the cove with the same report. They came, however, laden with as many penguins as they could carry, and all the eggs that could be collected. There was now no fear of suffering from starvation. The great difficulty was how to cook their abundant supply of provisions. No other seals had been seen; and it was feared that those on the little beach, frightened away by the doctor, would not return. "If so, the sooner we get away from this barren spot the better," observed Harry. "If the fine weather continues, as I hope it may, we can expect to reach the Auckland Islands in three or four days." "I think we should not give up all hopes of catching a seal or two," observed the doctor. "As they have been only once disturbed, the herd we saw are pretty certain to come back before long; and if we can conceal ourselves and watch for them, we may shoot or knock some on the head before they can again escape." This proposal was agreed to, and Harry resolved to wait a few hours longer, in the hopes of success. One of the men also stated that he had seen some pieces of timber apparently, thrown up into a shallow cavern at the north end of the rock, and a man with him had in vain tried to get down to them; but he thought, with the aid of ropes, they might be reached. "Then let us get hold of them at once," said the doctor; "they will serve as fuel, and fuel can procure us water--no time to be lost."