good
feast then."

"What?" cried Drew.

"Feast, sir. There'll be plenty of roast men done to a turn."

"Don't!" cried Oliver. "You give me quite a turn."

The discussion arose one morning some weeks after the ascent to the
crater, and when, after a tremendous amount of collecting, the three
naturalists had owned that it was getting on toward the time for helping
Mr Rimmer a little over the preparations for getting away from the
island.

"Really, Mr Rimmer," Oliver said, "I am ashamed of my selfishness."

"Eh? What have you been doing selfish, my dear sir?" was the reply.

"Thinking of nothing but my own pleasure."

"Pleasure, sir? Why, I haven't seen you playing any games but a bit or
two of chess with Mr Panton."

"I mean in thinking of nothing else but my collecting."

"Why, that was your work, sir."

"It is a pleasure to me, and I have thought of nothing else."

"And quite right too, my lad. You came out on purpose to make a
collection, didn't you?"

"Well, yes."

"And you've made a splendid one, sir. I never saw such birds and
butterflies and beetles before, let along the snakes and things."

"Yes, I have been grandly successful," said Oliver; "certainly."

"And so have your friends. You're satisfied, I hope, Mr Panton?"

"More than satisfied," cried that gentleman. "I've a wonderful
collection of minerals, and I've picked up some grand facts on volcanic
and coral formation."

"Oh, yes," cried Drew. "I'm satisfied, too. I'm only afraid that
you'll have to build another boat to carry my specimens."

"All right, we'll build one if it's necessary, but we've got to tackle
this one first. Everything's done that can be done before she's in the
water. No likelihood of another earthquake wave, is there, sir?"

"There might be one at any time," said Panton; "but it might be five
hundred years."

"And it would be tiresome to wait as long as that, eh, sir?" said the
mate, with a droll twinkle of the eye.

"Yes, you'd better get her down to the sea first. What do you mean to
do?"

"Begin to-morrow morning, gentlemen; and if you would be so good as to
let the birds and stones and flowers alone now, and help me till we get
the _Little Planet_ afloat, I should be obliged."

"You know we'll all do our best, Mr Rimmer," said Panton. "You've
helped us whenever we have hinted at wanting a hand."

"Why, of course, sir, of course," said the mate, interrupting the
speaker. "It's all right: