n his delirium did he call Phina, whom he never should
see again, and his Uncle Will, from whom he beheld himself separated for
ever! Ah! he had to alter his opinion of this Crusoe life which his
boyish imagination had made his ideal! Now he was contending with
reality! He could no longer even hope to return to the domestic hearth.

So passed this miserable December, at the end of which Godfrey began to
recover his strength.

As for Tartlet, by special grace, doubtless, he was always well. But
what incessant lamentations! What endless jeremiads! As the grotto of
Calypso after the departure of Ulysses, Will Tree "resounded no more to
his song"--that of his fiddle--for the cold had frozen the strings!

It should be said too that one of the gravest anxieties of Godfrey was
not only the re-appearance of dangerous animals, but the fear of the
savages returning in great numbers to Phina Island, the situation of
which was known to them. Against such an invasion the palisade was but
an insufficient barrier. All things considered, the refuge offered by
the high branches of the sequoia appeared much safer, and the rendering
the access less difficult was taken in hand. It would always be easy to
defend the narrow orifice by which the top of the trunk was reached.

With the aid of Carefinotu Godfrey began to cut regular ledges on each
side, like the steps of a staircase, and these, connected by a long cord
of vegetable fibre, permitted of rapid ascent up the interior.

"Well," said Godfrey, when the work was done, "that gives us a town
house below and a country house above!"

"I had rather have a cellar, if it was in Montgomery Street!" answered
Tartlet.

Christmas arrived. Christmas kept in such style throughout the United
States of America! The New Year's Day, full of memories of childhood,
rainy, snowy, cold, and gloomy, began the new year under the most
melancholy auspices.

It was six months since the survivors of the _Dream_ had remained
without communication with the rest of the world.

The commencement of the year was not very cheering. It made Godfrey and
his companions anticipate that they would still have many trials to
encounter.

The snow never ceased falling until January 18th. The flocks had to be
let out to pasture to get what feed they could. At the close of the day,
a very cold damp night enveloped the island, and the space shaded by the
sequoias was plunged in profound obscurity.

Tartlet and Carefin