Masterman Ready [27]
the cocoa-nut grove for more than an hour longer, marking the trees as they went along; they then sat down to take their breakfast.
"Don't give the dogs any water, William, nor any of the salt meat; give them biscuit only."
"But they are very thirsty; may not I give them a little?"
"No: we shall want it all ourselves, in the first place; and, in the next, I wish them to be thirsty. And, William, take my advice, and only drink a small quantity of water at a time. The more you drink, the more you want."
"Then I should not eat so much salt meat."
"Very true; the less you eat the better, unless we find water, and fill our bottles again."
"But we have our axes, and can always cut down a cocoa-nut, and get the milk from the young nuts."
"Very true; and fortunate it is that we have that to resort to; but still we could not do very well on cocoa-nut milk alone, even if it were to be procured all the year round. Now we will go on if you do not feel tired."
"Not in the least; I am tired of seeing nothing but the stems of cocoa-nut trees, and shall be glad when we are through the wood."
"Then the faster we walk the better," said Ready; "as far as I can judge, we must be about half-way across now."
Ready and William recommenced their journey; and, after half-an-hour's walking, they found that the ground was not so level as it had been - sometimes they went gradually up hill, at others down.
"I am very glad to find the island is not so flat here; we have a better chance of finding water."
"It is much steeper before us," replied William; "it's quite a hill."
The ground now became more undulating, although still covered with cocoa-nut trees, even thicker together than before. They continued their march, occasionally looking at the compass, until William showed symptoms of weariness, for the wood had become more difficult to get through than at first.
"How many miles do you think we have walked, Ready?" said Willy.
"About eight, I should think."
"Not more than eight?"
"No; I do not think that we have made more than two miles an hour: it's slow work, travelling by compass and marking the trees; but I think the wood looks lighter before us, now that we are at the top of this hill."
"It does, Ready; I fancy I can see the blue sky again."
"Your eyes are younger than mine, William, and perhaps you may - however, we shall soon find out."
They now descended into a small hollow, and then went up hill again. As soon as they arrived at the top, William cried out, "The sea, Ready! there's the sea!"
"Very true, William, and I'm not sorry for it."
"I thought we never should get out of that nasty wood again," said William, as he impatiently pushed on, and at last stood clear of the cocoa-nut grove. Ready soon joined him, and they surveyed the scene before them in silence.
Chapter XV
"Oh! how beautiful!" exclaimed William, at last; "I'm sure mamma would like to live here. I thought the other side of the island very pretty, but it's nothing compared to this."
"It is very beautiful," replied Ready, thoughtfully.
A more lovely scene could scarcely be imagined. The cocoa-nut grove terminated about a quarter of a mile from the beach, very abruptly, for there was a rapid descent for about thirty feet from where they stood to the land below, on which was a mixture of little grass knolls and brushwood, to about fifty yards from the water's edge, where it was met with dazzling white sand, occasionally divided by narrow ridges of rock which ran inland. The water was a deep blue, except where it was broken into white foam on the reefs, which extended for miles from the beach, and the rocks of which now and then showed themselves above water. On the rocks were perched crowds of gannets and men-of-war birds, while others wheeled in the air, every now and then darting down into the blue sea, and bringing up in their bills a fish out of the shoals which rippled the water, or bounded clear of it in their gambols. The form of the coast was that of a horse-shoe bay - two points of land covered
"Don't give the dogs any water, William, nor any of the salt meat; give them biscuit only."
"But they are very thirsty; may not I give them a little?"
"No: we shall want it all ourselves, in the first place; and, in the next, I wish them to be thirsty. And, William, take my advice, and only drink a small quantity of water at a time. The more you drink, the more you want."
"Then I should not eat so much salt meat."
"Very true; the less you eat the better, unless we find water, and fill our bottles again."
"But we have our axes, and can always cut down a cocoa-nut, and get the milk from the young nuts."
"Very true; and fortunate it is that we have that to resort to; but still we could not do very well on cocoa-nut milk alone, even if it were to be procured all the year round. Now we will go on if you do not feel tired."
"Not in the least; I am tired of seeing nothing but the stems of cocoa-nut trees, and shall be glad when we are through the wood."
"Then the faster we walk the better," said Ready; "as far as I can judge, we must be about half-way across now."
Ready and William recommenced their journey; and, after half-an-hour's walking, they found that the ground was not so level as it had been - sometimes they went gradually up hill, at others down.
"I am very glad to find the island is not so flat here; we have a better chance of finding water."
"It is much steeper before us," replied William; "it's quite a hill."
The ground now became more undulating, although still covered with cocoa-nut trees, even thicker together than before. They continued their march, occasionally looking at the compass, until William showed symptoms of weariness, for the wood had become more difficult to get through than at first.
"How many miles do you think we have walked, Ready?" said Willy.
"About eight, I should think."
"Not more than eight?"
"No; I do not think that we have made more than two miles an hour: it's slow work, travelling by compass and marking the trees; but I think the wood looks lighter before us, now that we are at the top of this hill."
"It does, Ready; I fancy I can see the blue sky again."
"Your eyes are younger than mine, William, and perhaps you may - however, we shall soon find out."
They now descended into a small hollow, and then went up hill again. As soon as they arrived at the top, William cried out, "The sea, Ready! there's the sea!"
"Very true, William, and I'm not sorry for it."
"I thought we never should get out of that nasty wood again," said William, as he impatiently pushed on, and at last stood clear of the cocoa-nut grove. Ready soon joined him, and they surveyed the scene before them in silence.
Chapter XV
"Oh! how beautiful!" exclaimed William, at last; "I'm sure mamma would like to live here. I thought the other side of the island very pretty, but it's nothing compared to this."
"It is very beautiful," replied Ready, thoughtfully.
A more lovely scene could scarcely be imagined. The cocoa-nut grove terminated about a quarter of a mile from the beach, very abruptly, for there was a rapid descent for about thirty feet from where they stood to the land below, on which was a mixture of little grass knolls and brushwood, to about fifty yards from the water's edge, where it was met with dazzling white sand, occasionally divided by narrow ridges of rock which ran inland. The water was a deep blue, except where it was broken into white foam on the reefs, which extended for miles from the beach, and the rocks of which now and then showed themselves above water. On the rocks were perched crowds of gannets and men-of-war birds, while others wheeled in the air, every now and then darting down into the blue sea, and bringing up in their bills a fish out of the shoals which rippled the water, or bounded clear of it in their gambols. The form of the coast was that of a horse-shoe bay - two points of land covered