thout the mollusc, weigh
even more than that; indeed, I afterwards saw some in use of larger
size. Having captured our prize, however, we found that there was some
chance of our not being able to get at the mollusc inside; for when the
difficulty of opening an ordinary oyster-shell is remembered, the force
required to get at the inside of so large a shell as this would be no
easy task. It was important, however, to get the creature out at once,
for if it were exposed to the sun, it would, in all probability, not be
fit to eat by the evening. Macco, ever fertile in resource, ran off,
and soon returned with a supply of bamboos, which he split up into fine
long wedges. He hunted about on every side till he found a small
opening; into this he instantly inserted the fine point of a piece of
bamboo, and going round the shell, placed another in a similar position.
There was no lack of pieces of coral rock lying about which had been
broken off by the sea, and thrown up on the beach; these served as
hammers. "Now," he cried out, "strike! strike altogether!" We did so,
but Oliver's instrument and mine made no impression; Macco's, however,
went right in, and seemed to cut some part of the creature; for directly
afterwards, by using the wedges as levers, we lifted up one of the
valves, and exposed to view a huge mass of blubber-like flesh. Macco
seemed highly delighted. "Dat bery good, bery good!" he exclaimed, and
soon cut the whole away from the shell, and held it up to let the water
run out.

"I should be very hungry before I could eat that," I observed.

"Ah, Massa Walter," he answered, "you will be bery hungry if you no eat
dis, and many oder curious t'ings. De great t'ing is, if good to eat.
If good, no mind looks; better to eat dis dan starve."

With some powerful blows, he separated the two shells, and now begged us
to carry them up to the hut. "Dey hold water," he observed; "and we
soon have all we want to live well." Having made up the fire, he cut
three very long bamboo stakes, with which he made a triangle over it, so
high that the flames could not reach the poles to burn them. From the
centre he hung down the huge mollusc, so that the smoke might circle
round it. "Dere," he said, "dis now dry, and keep well till we want eat
it."

CHAPTER TWELVE.

OUR LIFE ON THE ISLAND.

The success we had already met with in finding food raised our spirits;
but I knew the risk we should run of losing our health