it would take us to reach it; nor could I be sure, therefore,
whether I had taken a sufficient supply of food and water. Our
provisions, which included tinned meats, corn in the cob and loose,
turtles' flesh and intestines, flour, rice, beans, &c., would, however,
on a fairly liberal allowance, last a little over three weeks. We also
carried some blankets, nails, tar, and other requisites. Of my books I
only took my Bible with me. This I wrapped up in parchment made from
pelican skin, together with four photographs of a certain young lady
which I carried about with me throughout the whole of my wanderings. The
propulsive power was, of course, the big lug-sail, which was always held
loosely in the hand, and never made fast, for fear of a sudden capsize.

Six months had passed away since the advent of my visitors, when one
morning we all marched out from the hut and down to the beach; the two
boys fairly yelling with joy, and waving bunches of green corn plucked
from my garden. Their mother skipped gaily hither and thither, and I
myself was hardly able to control my transports of excitement and
exhilaration. Even Gunda beamed upon the preparations for our release. I
did not demolish my hut of pearl shells, but left it standing exactly as
it had been during the past two and a half years. Nor must I omit to
mention that I buried my treasure of pearls deep in the sand at one end
of the island, and in all human probability it is there at this moment,
for I have never returned for them, as I fondly hoped to be able to do so
at some future date. It is, of course, possible that the precious box
has been washed away in a storm, but more probably the contrary is the
case, and still deeper layers of sand have been silted over this great
treasure. I dared not carry anything oversea that was not vitally
necessary, and what good were pearls to me on my fearful journey,
convoying four other people out into the unknown in a crazy, home-made
boat? Even masses of virgin gold were of very little use to me in the
years that followed; but of this more anon. My condition, by the way, at
this time was one of robust health; indeed, I was getting quite stout
owing to the quantity of turtle I had been eating, whilst Yamba's husband
was positively corpulent from the same reason.

That glorious morning in the last week of May 1866 will ever be graven in
my memory. As I cast off from that saving but cruel shore, I thanked my
Maker for