"Perhaps," said Peterkin, "they may take it into their heads to stop here
altogether, and so we shall be buried alive in this place."

"Don't you think, Peterkin, that it's the nearest thing to being drowned
alive that you ever felt?" said Jack with a smile. "But I've no fear of
that. These villains never stay long on shore. The sea is their home,
so you may depend upon it that they won't stay more than a day or two at
the furthest."

We now began to make arrangements for spending the night in the cavern.
At various periods Jack and I had conveyed cocoa nuts and other fruits,
besides rolls of cocoa-nut cloth, to this submarine cave, partly for
amusement, and partly from a feeling that we might possibly be driven one
day to take shelter here from the savages. Little did we imagine that
the first savages who would drive us into it would be white savages,
perhaps our own countrymen. We found the cocoa-nuts in good condition,
and the cooked yams, but the bread-fruits were spoiled. We also found
the cloth where we had left it; and, on opening it out, there proved to
be sufficient to make a bed; which was important, as the rock was damp.
Having collected it all together, we spread out our bed, placed our torch
in the midst of us, and ate our supper. It was indeed a strange chamber
to feast in; and we could not help remarking on the cold, ghastly
appearance of the walls, and the black water at our side, with the thick
darkness beyond, and the sullen sound of the drops that fell at long
intervals from the roof of the cavern into the still water; and the
strong contrast between all this and our bed and supper, which, with our
faces, were lit up with the deep red flame of the torch.

We sat long over our meal, talking together in subdued voices, for we did
not like the dismal echoes that rang through the vault above when we
happened to raise them. At last the faint light that came through the
opening died away, warning us that it was night and time for rest. We
therefore put out our torch and lay down to sleep.

On awaking, it was some time ere we could collect our faculties so as to
remember where we were, and we were in much uncertainty as to whether it
was early or late. We saw by the faint light that it was day, but could
not guess at the hour; so Jack proposed that he should dive out and
reconnoitre.

"No, Jack," said I, "do you rest here. You've had enough to do during
the last few days. Rest yourself now, a