mber of young turtle crawling
out of the sand and making their way to the sea, expecting, of course,
to enjoy a pleasant swim; instead of which, a very large number of the
poor little innocents must have been gobbled up by the voracious
monsters. It would seem as if none could escape, but I suppose that
some manage to run the gauntlet and to get clear off into deep water.

We had now a supply of turtle sufficient to last us till the return of
their brethren the next year, should we be kept on the island so long.
We thought that very probably we might have to remain even longer than a
year. Even four or five years might pass without a ship coming near us.

We had made steps up to the top of our flag-staff, and one of us never
failed to climb up there every morning, noon, and evening, to take a
look round to see if any sail was in sight. Sometimes we talked of
building a canoe in which we might cross to some other island, or
perhaps even reach the mainland of South America. This was Silva's
proposal. He had seen, he asserted, birds flying in that direction.
Some did not even stop on our island; and this circumstance convinced
him, he said, that land could not be far-off. Mr Brand did not approve
of this proposal. He said that, without a compass, and without knowing
the direction in which land was to be found, the experiment was too
hazardous, in so frail a bark as we had it in our power to construct.
Still Silva constantly harped on this subject, and seemed quite angry
when nobody seemed inclined to make the attempt.

Weeks and months rolled on. Silva used to listen to what Mr Brand said
to him, and he always behaved very well. Indeed, we had ceased to
remember that he had been a pirate, and had joined in the most atrocious
murders; still, I do not know that he was a changed man--I am afraid
not; that is to say, I am afraid had a piratical vessel come off the
island, he would not have refused to join her. One very hot day Jerry
and I had accompanied him in an excursion along the shore, when suddenly
he said that he should like to bathe. We walked on a little further,
leaving him to undress, and then we agreed that the water looked very
tempting, and that we would bathe also. We were by this time at some
little distance from him. We were partly undressed when we saw that the
tide was rising, so we carried our things higher up the beach.

"If it were not for those horrid sharks, I should like to have a good