ne, on
rising one morning from his humble couch. "Were you much disturbed by
the wind last night?"

"No," said I; "I dreamed of home all night, and I thought that my mother
smiled upon me, and beckoned me to go to her; but I could not, for I was
chained."

"And I dreamed, too," said Peterkin; "but it was of our happy home on the
Coral Island. I thought we were swimming in the Water Garden; then the
savages gave a yell, and we were immediately in the cave at Spouting
Cliff, which, somehow or other, changed into this gloomy cavern; and I
awoke to find it true."

Peterkin's tone was so much altered by the depressing influence of his
long imprisonment, that, had I not known it was he who spoke, I should
scarcely have recognised it, so sad was it, and so unlike to the merry,
cheerful voice we had been accustomed to hear. I pondered this much, and
thought of the terrible decline of happiness that may come on human
beings in so short a time; how bright the sunshine in the sky at one
time, and, in a short space, how dark the overshadowing cloud! I had no
doubt that the Bible would have given me much light and comfort on this
subject, if I had possessed one, and I once more had occasion to regret
deeply having neglected to store my memory with its consoling truths.

While I meditated thus, Peterkin again broke the silence of the cave, by
saying, in a melancholy tone, "Oh, I wonder if we shall ever see our dear
island more."

His voice trembled, and, covering his face with both hands, he bent down
his head and wept. It was an unusual sight for me to see our once joyous
companion in tears, and I felt a burning desire to comfort him; but,
alas! what could I say? I could hold out no hope; and although I essayed
twice to speak, the words refused to pass my lips. While I hesitated,
Jack sat down beside him, and whispered a few words in his ear, while
Peterkin threw himself on his friend's breast, and rested his head on his
shoulder.

Thus we sat for some time in deep silence. Soon after, we heard
footsteps at the entrance of the cave, and immediately our jailer
entered. We were so much accustomed to his regular visits, however, that
we paid little attention to him, expecting that he would set down our
meagre fare, as usual, and depart. But, to our surprise, instead of
doing so, he advanced towards us with a knife in his hand, and, going up
to Jack, he cut the thongs that bound his wrists, then he did the same to
Pete