carefully barricaded, a precaution which had been omitted
since the first evening of their taking possession of the little
dwelling.

The next morning was a bright and cheerful one, with no wind to speak
of, save a pleasant breeze, while the sun was warm and cheerful--its
light dancing on the curly little waves that rippled on the beach,
causing the plumage of the penguins as they made their pilgrimages to
and from the rookery to gleam with iridescent colours. This was
especially the case when the birds emerged from the water, the light
just then giving them the tints which the dolphin displays when first
caught and before death has deadened its changing hues.

"A splendid day for our exploring trip!" sang out Eric, the early riser,
waking up Fritz by rolling away the barrels from before their frail
doorway and fussing about the hut. "Rouse up, brother. The old sun has
been up for an hour or more, and it will be soon time for us to start."

"Eh, what? oh, yes," cried Fritz, rubbing his eyes and yawning; but,
Eric, pulling away his blankets, soon made him bestir himself, when his
brother jumped up with his usual alertness--first running down to the
beach and imitating the penguins in having a dip in the sea, to wash the
cobwebs out of his head, as he laughingly said on his return to their
little domicile, when proceeding to dress.

For a sailor, Eric was, strangely enough, not half so fond of a daily
bath; but, as he said in excuse to his brother, this was perhaps owing
to his having so many impromptu and unexpected douches on board ship.
Most seamen, especially those of foreign nationality, have seemingly a
horror of water for ablutionary purposes, in contradistinction to
landsmen.

However, there was one advantage in this, to Fritz at least; for, while
he was performing his swim and making his subsequent toilet, Eric had
lit a fire and was preparing coffee for their breakfast, to which, when
ready, Fritz was able to sit down comfortably without any trouble or
exertion on his part.

A cup of the steaming fluid apiece warmed the two, invigorating them for
the business of the day; and, as soon as the matutinal meal was
finished, they set about getting their traps ready.

"Of course, we'll take our guns, eh?" asked Eric; although, as far as he
was concerned, he had evidently already come to a decision on the point,
for he had carefully selected one of the Remington rifles from their
armoury for his own especial