s
in the way of food; in the sixth stood Jack, a bold lad, ten years old;
in the next Ernest, twelve years of age, well taught, but too fond of
self, and less fond of work than the rest; while I sat in the eighth, to
guide the raft that was to save all that was dear to me in the world.

As soon as the dogs (Bill and Turk by name) saw us push off from the
ship they leaped in the sea, swam near the raft, and kept well up with
us.

The sea was calm; so that we felt quite safe. We made good use of the
oars, and the raft bore its freight straight to the land; but as we drew
near to the shore the sight of the bare rocks led us to think that we
might still be in need of food and drink when that which we had was
gone.

As we got near, the coast lost its bare look, and we were glad to see
that there was no lack of trees. We soon found a bay, to which the ducks
and geese had found their way, and here we saw a place where we could
land.

As soon as we had made the raft fast with a strong rope, we took out all
our wealth, and made a tent with the old sail cloth we had brought with
us, and stuck a pole in the ground to keep it up. This done, I sent
the boys to get some moss and dry grass to make our beds with. With the
flint and steel we soon set fire to some dry twigs, and my wife made a
pot of soup with what she had brought from the ship.

Fritz, who had charge of the guns, chose one, and took a stroll by the
side of a stream, while Jack went in search of shell fish, which he
thought he might find on the rocks. My share of the work was to save two
large casks which were near the shore. While I was up to my knees in the
sea I heard a shrill cry, which I knew to come from Jack. I got out at
once, took up an axe, and ran to his help. I found him with his legs in
a rock pool, where a large crab held him by his toes. It soon made off
as I came near; but I struck at it with the axe, and brought it out of
the pool. Jack then took it up, though it gave him a pinch or two ere he
found out how to hold it, and ran off in high glee to show what he had
caught.

When I got back to the tent, I found that Ernest had brought us news
that he had seen salt in the chinks of the rocks, and that shell fish
were not scarce.

"Well, my boy, if you are sure you saw them, I will ask you to go back
for some. We must each do some work for the good of all."

He went, and soon found the salt, left by the sea on the rocks, which
the sun had made quit