ard with untiring care.

He worked unceasingly until near sunset, and the surf was again
beginning to play around the stranded schooner's bow.

He was so tired he could hardly stand, and made his last trip to the
vessel for that day just as the moon began to glimmer over the water.

It looked so very friendly, hanging directly above the mainmast, like a
great golden world, that he thought it would be pleasant to eat his
supper on land, by the light of its mellow rays, though the fire he had
kindled an hour before flamed up brightly on the sand close by and the
fragrance of boiling coffee mingled appetizingly with the briny breath
of the sea.

After partaking of his supper, he swung his hammock in the tent, for he
had no desire to pass another night on the schooner, and in five minutes
was fast asleep.

He had a lively remembrance of the red ants, soldier-snails, gnats,
lizards, mosquitoes and sand-flies of Ruatan; but none of these winged
and creeping pests disturbed his slumber, and he slept on until the sun
was fully an hour high and the palm trees vocal with the chattering of
the paroquets.

He awoke refreshed, sprang from his hammock and ran to see if the
schooner was all right.

Yes, there she was! Her tapering masts shining like polished marble in
the brilliant sunshine, and the tide fretting and frothing against her
sides.

After an exhilarating plunge in the surf, Frank set about getting his
breakfast. The day previous he had carried on shore all the galley
furniture, completely dismantling poor Nat's late quarters of stove,
cooking utensils, cups and plates, and everything portable, even to the
zinc covering of the floor.

He had not ventured so far as the hold, but had taken everything of
value from the captain's cabin--his books and charts, the ship's
instruments, a fine eight-day chronometer clock, still going, and which
he wound up with no little pleasure.

He carefully housed on shore the contents of the lockers, which included
a case of port wine, a little bag of Spanish reals, another of
doubloons, a case of canned meats, two of preserved fruits and jellies
and a small medicine chest.

All the cargo, save the cocoanuts, was a rotten mass in the hold, the
larger part of which he eventually pitched overboard.

There were coffee, chocolate, sugar, rice, beans, dried beef, barley,
vermicelli, a small quantity of tea, salt pork, hard biscuit, flour,
salt beef, lemons, honey, a cask of vinegar,