the door of
our cabin, and disappeared with a large bundle in his hand. He did not
return until near day-dawn; and, next night, the same act was exactly
repeated.

The mysterious sullenness of this vagabond not only alarmed, but
increased my nervousness, for I can assure the reader that, on a
desolate island, without a companion but a single outcast, one would
rather hear the sound of that wretch's voice than be doomed to the
silence of such inhuman solitude. During the day he kept entirely
aloof,--generally at sea fishing,--affording me time for a long
_siesta_ in a nook near the shore, penetrated by a thorny path, which
Gallego could not have traced without hounds. On the fourth night,
when the pirate left our hut for his accustomed excursion, I resolved
to follow; and taking a pistol with renewed priming, I pursued his
steps at a safe distance, till I saw him enter a thick shrubbery, in
which he was lost. I marked the spot and returned to the cabin. Next
morning, after coffee, Gallego departed in his canoe to fish. I
watched him anxiously from the beach until he anchored about two miles
from the reef, and then calling the dogs, retraced my way to the
thicket. The hounds were of great service, for, having placed them on
the track, they instantly traced the path of the surly scoundrel.

After some trouble in passing the dense copse of underwood, I entered
a large patch of naked sand, broken by heaps of stones, which appeared
to cover graves. One heap bore the form of a cross, and was probably
the sepulchre of a wrecker. I stopped awhile and reflected as to
further explorations. On entering this arid graveyard, I observed a
number of land-crabs scamper away; but, after awhile, when I sat down
in a corner and became perfectly quiet, I noticed that the army
returned to the field and introduced themselves into all the heaps of
stones or graves _save one_. This struck me as singular; for, when
people are so hopelessly alone as I was, they become minute observers,
and derive infinite happiness from the consideration of the merest
trifles. Accordingly, I ventured close to the abandoned heap, and
found at once that the neighboring sand had been freshly smoothed. I
was on Gallego's track! In dread of detection, I stealthily climbed a
tree, and, screening myself behind the foliage, peered out towards the
sea till I beheld the cook at work beyond the reef. My musket and
pistols were again examined and found in order. With thes