t to find the animal, at whose eyes he had fired
during the night; but it was gone without leaving even a trace of blood
behind it. The boat had sustained some damages during the night from the
surf dashing it against the rocks; but he managed to reach the wreck
with it, where he quickly mended the seam started in its side.

He brought away a cask of fresh water, a chest of sea-biscuit, some
Holland cheese, wine, salt pork and more dried fish. After they had
dined, they set out to the nearest mountain, from the peak of which they
hoped to get a survey of the surrounding country. He tried to induce
Blanche to remain, but she insisted on accompanying him.

Nothing is more deceitful than distance, and they were compelled to
pause and rest before they had reached the bluffs and foot-hills at the
base of the mountain. While resting there, they heard a scampering of
feet, accompanied by the loud snort of frightened animals flying from
the plateau above them. They were gone before John and his companion
were able to get a sight of them.

"What are they?" she asked.

"I know not, yet they seem to have a greater dread of us than we have of
them."

Resuming their journey they had not proceeded half a mile, when John
espied one of them looking down upon him and his companion from an airy
cliff. Its bristling horns, long beard, and keen eyes were visible,
though the ferns and grass concealed its body.

"It is a goat," he said. "The animals which we discovered were goats,
and we have nothing to fear from them."

A little further on, he discovered a fox in the bushes. The animal was
unacquainted with man and was very tame. It stood until they were within
a few paces of it, and then it trotted off a short distance and halted
to look at them. John's first impulse was to shoot it; but, on a second
thought, he decided to reserve his fire for some larger and more useful
game. At last the summit of the nearest hill was gained, and from it
they had a survey of the country and discovered that they were on an
island. Stevens' heart sank within him at the discovery, for now no
human help was within their reach. The fear of Spaniards and savages
gave place to the greater dread of passing their lives on a
desolate island.

The island was about sixteen miles long by ten wide. It had four lofty
mountains in the centre, one of which was so high as to be above the
clouds and covered at the peak with snow. These lofty elevations
supplied th