" I told him in reply how we were situated. "Can you join
me?" he asked. "I have hurt my foot, and am afraid of falling."

"Stay where you are," I answered; "we will try to reach you."

I made Duppo understand that I wished to get to where Arthur was. It
was necessary to move very cautiously, for fear of slipping off into the
water. We could not tell, indeed, whether the butt-end or the boughs of
our tree had caught in the floating island; all we could see was a dark
mass near us, and a few branches rising up towards the sky. I was
afraid, however, that if we did not make haste we might be again
separated from it as we had been from the other island. We scrambled
first some way along the boughs; but as we looked down we could see the
dark water below us, and I was afraid should we get on to the outer ends
that they might break and let us fall into it. I thought also of True,
for though we might possibly have swung ourselves across the boughs, he
would have been unable to follow us. I turned back, and once more made
my way towards the root-end, which, by the experience we had before had,
I hoped might have driven in closer to the mass we wished to reach. We
had to crawl carefully on our hands and knees, for the rain had made the
trunk slippery, and we might easily have fallen off. As I got towards
the end, I began to hope that it was touching the island. I again
called out to Arthur. His voice sounded clearer than before. When I
got to the end among the tangled mass of roots, I stopped once more to
ascertain what Duppo advised we should do.

I sat some time trying to pierce the gloom. At length I thought I saw a
thick bough projecting over the extreme end of our tree. If I could
once catch hold of it I might swing myself on to the island. There was
one fear, however, that it might give way with my weight. Still I saw
no other mode of getting to Arthur. True, I hoped, might leap along the
roots, which were sufficiently buoyant to bear his weight, at all
events. Having given my rifle to Duppo to hold, I cautiously went on.
I got nearer and nearer the bough. With one strong effort I might catch
hold of it. I sprang up, and seized it with both hands. It seemed
firmly fixed in a mass of floating wood. After clambering along for a
short distance I let myself down and found footing below me. I now
called to Duppo, and holding on to the bough above my head with one
hand, stepped back till at last I was