e along with them, and that he had no doubt whatever he had kicked
them off while in the sea, that he might swim more easily.

Peterkin immediately put them on, but they were so large that, as Jack
said, they would have done for boots, trousers, and vest too. I also
tried them, but, although I was long enough in the legs for them, they
were much too large in the feet for me; so we handed them to Jack, who
was anxious to make me keep them, but as they fitted his large limbs and
feet as if they had been made for him, I would not hear of it, so he
consented at last to use them. I may remark, however, that Jack did not
use them often, as they were extremely heavy.

It was beginning to grow dark when we returned to our encampment; so we
put off our visit to the top of a hill till next day, and employed the
light that yet remained to us in cutting down a quantity of boughs and
the broad leaves of a tree, of which none of us knew the name. With
these we erected a sort of rustic bower, in which we meant to pass the
night. There was no absolute necessity for this, because the air of our
island was so genial and balmy that we could have slept quite well
without any shelter; but we were so little used to sleeping in the open
air, that we did not quite relish the idea of lying down without any
covering over us: besides, our bower would shelter us from the night dews
or rain, if any should happen to fall. Having strewed the floor with
leaves and dry grass, we bethought ourselves of supper.

But it now occurred to us, for the first time, that we had no means of
making a fire.

"Now, there's a fix!--what shall we do?" said Peterkin, while we both
turned our eyes to Jack, to whom we always looked in our difficulties.
Jack seemed not a little perplexed.

"There are flints enough, no doubt, on the beach," said he, "but they are
of no use at all without a steel. However, we must try." So saying, he
went to the beach, and soon returned with two flints. On one of these he
placed the tinder, and endeavoured to ignite it; but it was with great
difficulty that a very small spark was struck out of the flints, and the
tinder, being a bad, hard piece, would not catch. He then tried the bit
of hoop iron, which would not strike fire at all; and after that the back
of the axe, with no better success. During all these trials Peterkin sat
with his hands in his pockets, gazing with a most melancholy visage at
our comrade, his face growing