ot find a
supply of fruit. If we can collect a store enough we might venture upon
making a start. You see, we must keep well off the land, for if we were
made out from any of the coast villages, we should have one of their craft
after us in no time; but, in any case, I should say we had better stay
here for a week. If the _Tiger_ got safely through that gale, you may be
sure the captain will be cruising about looking for us. He has sufficient
faith in his boats to feel pretty positive that if we have not been cast
ashore we are still afloat."

CHAPTER IV.

A RESCUE.

They were soon in the forest. It required care and caution to make their
way through the tangled growth of climbing canes and vines. Some of these
were armed with terrible thorns, and as they had no hatchets to chop their
way through them they were often obliged to make detours to escape these
obstacles. Orchids of brilliant colours and fantastic shapes grew thickly
on the trees, ants in countless numbers swarmed up and down the trunks,
and many an angry exclamation was wrung from the seamen as a bite as sharp
as the sting of a wasp told that some of these insects had crawled up the
legs of their trousers or made their way down their neck.

"Unless we are going to live on ants," the mate said ruefully as he gave a
savage slap at his leg, "it seems to me we are likely to starve, for I
have seen nothing whatever to eat since we entered the wood. Even if some
of the trees did bear fruit I don't see how we are going to get at it, for
one would be eaten alive by these little brutes before we reached the
top."

"I vote we turn back, Mr. Towel," one of the men said. "I would rather put
to sea and take my chance than keep on being stung by these ants, when
there doesn't seem the least hope of our finding anything."

"There doesn't seem much chance here, Nixon. I think we had best get out
of the wood and follow the edge along. We may come to some place where it
is more open, and may even strike on a stream. If we could do that we
might patch up the boat and pull up stream a bit. Anyhow, I don't think it
is any use pushing on here. My jacket is torn in a dozen places already by
the thorns."

"One of them has nearly taken my eye out," another grumbled; and indeed
all were bleeding from the gashes they had received from the thorns. They
made their way back carefully, and there was a gener