occupation of some in the colony, as the garden had not yet advanced to
that stage where anything could be gotten from it. One morning John was
missing, and there was a great deal of speculation as to his
disappearance.

Before noon he reappeared, carrying in his arms as large a quantity of
vegetables as he could carry. Harry was the first to see and welcome
him. He recognized beets and was delighted to find that John understood
what they were after. When the Professor was informed, he gave a hearty
welcome, and John seemed to recognize that his efforts were appreciated.

"Ah! I see you have some onions," he said, as he beamed on him.

"Onions!"

"Yes; the wild onion, the progenitor of all the onions. One variety of
this is a species called chives, used as a salad, and is known
throughout Europe under that name."

"But this beet is very small; is it also wild?"

"There are four varieties of the beet. This is the most common of them
all, and grows in a wild state in many parts of the world. The
Mangelwurzel is a larger beet, and coarser, and is much used for cattle
feed. If you want to give your cows a treat, this would be the food to
give them. Then there is a kind called the chard, also a good variety.
If possible, we should try and get John to show us where he found them.
Undoubtedly it was along the sandy part of the island."

The first real surprise manifested by John was when the yaks were
hitched up and he was invited to join them on a trip. His eyes seemed to
show some glimmer of intelligence when he slowly crawled up into the
wagon. Their course was directed toward the forest to the west, and the
trip there, which occupied nearly two hours, was a constant source of
pleasure to all.

On the way the animals were stopped at intervals to allow the Professor
and George to collect specimens of plants and to seek for ores. And here
occurred the first real symptoms of returning consciousness on the part
of John. As the Professor was moving toward a hill, with a small pick,
he was seen to pick up one of the little hammers and follow.

Without seeming to notice either of the party, he undertook to explore
on his own account, moving here and there along the hillside and
occasionally stopping to examine and chip off samples, which he
carefully laid down, but when this was done, entirely forgot to collect
them. The act of procuring the samples seemed to be the absorbing
element. He thus went on, never returning t