at the water will leak out as fast as it
runs in."

"I am ready to devote mine to the purpose, at all events," I said,
taking them off and working them down into the sand--though it was
evident that a long time must elapse before water could flow into them.

"But what has become of Ben?" I asked; "we must let him know, as
probably he is as thirsty as we were."

We looked round, and at last caught sight of him stooping down, as if
picking up something at the edge of the water. We shouted to him, but
he was so busily engaged that he did not hear us.

"He has found some mussels or other shell-fish," exclaimed Halliday,
setting off to run; "I am desperately hungry."

"Depend on it, Ben will give us a due share of whatever he has found,"
said Boxall, as we followed our companion.

"Have you found any mussels?" Halliday was asking as we drew near.

"Better than mussels--oysters," answered Ben. "It's a very hard job,
however, to get them off the rock. I intended to surprise you, thinking
you were all still asleep, and so I waited till I could get enough for
all of us."

He showed us his ample pockets already full; and, hungry as he was, I am
certain that the honest fellow had not touched one of them. We retired
to the dry sand, and sitting down, eagerly opened the oysters with our
knives. How delicious they were! meat and drink in one, as Ben
observed--for we could scarcely have swallowed any dry food just then.
We found our strength greatly restored after our meal.

Having told Ben of the means we had taken to find water, we advised him
to come back with us and get a drink.

"No, no, gentlemen," he said; "it will be wiser first to collect as many
oysters as we can secure before the tide comes back, for we shall not
then be able to get them."

So we all set to work to collect oysters, filling our pockets and then
carrying them on shore, and there piling them up beyond high-water mark.
We knew that we should require a large number: indeed, Boxall reminded
us that we could not expect to live long upon them and keep up our
strength. It was tantalising, also, to reflect that we could not carry
any quantity on our intended voyage.

Boxall then proposed that we should return to our water-hole. "Though I
am afraid, Charlie, we shall not find your shoes very full," he
observed.

"Perhaps not; but if we take a few of the deepest of these
oyster-shells, we may get water more quickly," I answered. The thought
t