ung off one of them at the
trunk of a young tree; the cord went round and round it in a coil and
bound it so tight that I could have drawn it to me had it not been fast
in the ground. This trick the boys were not slow to learn; and Fritz,
in a short time, could take an aim as well with a stone as he could with
his gun.

As yet we had not seen much of the isle; for it took most of our time
to build the house. But one day we made up our minds that we would all
start on a tour. We rose at dawn, put the ass in the sledge, took what
food we thought we should need, and set out from The Nest just as the
sun rose.

When we came to the wood where Fritz found the ape, he told them by what
means we got the nuts, but now there were no apes there to throw them
down.

"Oh, if one would but fall from the trees," he said.

The words had but just left his lips when a large nut fell at his feet.
He made a start back, and two more came down near the same spot.

As the nuts were far from ripe, I was at a loss to know how they could
fall off the tree, for I could not see an ape nor a bird near.

I went close up to the tree, and saw a large land crab on its way down
the trunk. Jack struck a blow at him with a stick, but did not hit the
beast. He then took off his coat and threw it on the crab's head, while
I made an end of him with an axe. I told them that these crabs climb
the trees and break off the nuts, as we had seen, and then come down to
feast on them at their ease.

"But how do they crack the nuts?" said Jack.

"They make a hole through the shell at the thin end, and then suck them
dry."

The dead crab was put in the sledge, and we went on through the wood.
When we came to the Gourd Wood, we sat down to make some more bowls and
flasks to take back with us. Ernest had gone to try what new thing he
could find, but he had not been from us long, when we heard him call out,

"A wild boar! A great wild boar! Come here, pray!"

We took up our guns, and went at once with the dogs to the spot. We soon
heard Turk give a loud bark, and just then we heard Ernest laugh, and
saw the two dogs come through a clump of brush wood, with our old sow
fast by the ears. She did not seem to like the way in which they had
put an end to her feast of fruit, so she ran back as soon as we told the
dogs to let go their hold of her ears.

"But with all our sport," said Fritz, "we have a poor show of game.
Let us leave the young ones, and set off to