f
expediting, and moored the sea-lion to the very rock that had killed him,
and was proceeding to dig out the seals, when a voice he never could hear
without a thrill summoned him to dinner.

It was a plentiful repast, and included roast pintado and cabbage-palm.
Helen Rolleston informed him during dinner that he would no longer be
allowed to monopolize the labor attendant upon their condition.

"No," said she, "you are always working for me, and I shall work for you.
Cooking and washing are a woman's work, not a man's; and so are plaiting
and netting."

This healthy resolution once formed was adhered to with a constancy that
belonged to the girl's character. The roof of the ruined hut came ashore
in the bay that evening, and was fastened over the boat. Hazel lighted a
bonfire in the cavern, and had the satisfaction of seeing some of the
smoke issue above. But he would not let Miss Rolleston occupy it yet. He
shifted her things to the boat and slept in the cave himself. However, he
lost no time in laying down a great hearth, and built a fireplace and
chimney in the cave. The chimney went up to the hole in the arch of the
cave; then came the stone funnel, stolen from Nature; and above, on the
upper surface of the cliff, came the chimney-pot. Thus the chimney acted
like a German stove: it stood in the center, and soon made the cavern
very dry and warm, and a fine retreat during the rains. When it was ready
for occupation, Helen said she would sail to it: she would not go by
land; that was too tame for her. Hazel had only to comply with her humor,
and at high water they got into the boat, and went down the river into
the sea with a rush that made Helen wince. He soon rowed her across the
bay to a point distant not more than fifty yards from the cavern, and
installed her. But he never returned to the river; it was an inconvenient
place to make excursions from; and besides, all his work was now either
in or about the cavern; and that convenient hurricane, as Helen called
it, not only made him a builder again; it also made him a currier, a
soap-boiler, and a salter. So they drew the boat just above high-water
mark in a sheltered nook, and he set up his arsenal ashore.

In this situation, day glided by after day, and week after week, in
vigorous occupations, brightened by social intercourse, and in some
degree by the beauty and the friendship of the animals. Of all this
industry we can only afford a brief summary. Hazel fix