le that a disabled vessel had been cast on the coast of the
island, that one at least of the crew had been saved, and that by
means of the wreck this man, having tools at his disposal, had built
the dwelling.

And this became still more evident when Gideon Spilett, after having
walked round the hut, saw on a plank, probably one of those which had
formed the armour of the wrecked vessel, these letters already half
effaced:--

"Br--tan--a."

"Britannia," exclaimed Pencroft, whom the reporter had called; "it is
a common name for ships, and I could not say if she was English or
American!"

"It matters very little, Pencroft!"

"Very little indeed," answered the sailor; "and we will save the
survivor of her crew if he is still living, to whatever country he may
belong. But before beginning our search again let us go on board the
_Bonadventure_."

A sort of uneasiness had seized Pencroft upon the subject of his
vessel. Should the island be inhabited after all, and should some one
have taken possession of her? But he shrugged his shoulders at such an
unreasonable supposition. At any rate the sailor was not sorry to go
to breakfast on board. The road already trodden was not long, scarcely
a mile. They set out on their walk, gazing into the wood and thickets
through which goats and pigs fled in hundreds.

Twenty minutes after leaving the hut Pencroft and his companions
reached the western coast of the island, and saw the _Bonadventure_
held fast by her anchor, which was buried deep in the sand.

Pencroft could not restrain a sigh of satisfaction. After all this
vessel was his child, and it is the right of fathers to be often
uneasy when there is no occasion for it.

They returned on board, breakfasted, so that it should not be
necessary to dine until very late; then the repast being ended, the
exploration was continued and conducted with the most minute care.
Indeed, it was very probable that the only inhabitant of the island
had perished. It was therefore more for the traces of a dead than of a
living man that Pencroft and his companions searched. But their
searches were vain, and during the half of that day they sought to no
purpose among the thickets of trees which covered the islet. There was
then scarcely any doubt that, if the castaway was dead, no trace of
his body now remained, but that some wild beast had probably devoured
it to the last bone.

"We will set off to-morrow at daybr