rowne had two or three times rapped him smartly over the nose.
After landing in safety, Max pelted him with shells and pieces of coral
rock, until he finally swam off.

Meantime, Arthur and Johnny had returned from their wandering along the
reef; the latter had come across another colony of crabs, and had
succeeded in capturing three of them, or rather two and a half, for
having, as he fondly imagined, disabled one enormous fellow by hacking
him in two with his cutlass, the one half had scrambled into the hole,
while Johnny was securing the other.

We now placed the chama shells, the crabs, and other shell-fish,
together with Johnny's specimens, to which he had added a splendid
madrepore vase, in the boat, and as soon as the swimmers were dressed,
we pulled over to Palm-islet. Here we arranged a tent in the same
manner as we had done on the memorable night when we first reached these
shores. Max then kindled a fire, and prepared to cook our supper. The
shell-fish were easily managed by placing them upon the embers, but the
crabs, which it was necessary to boil, and which were of the size of
small lobsters, presented a more difficult case. Max's culinary genius,
however, stimulated by a keen appetite, eventually triumphed over every
obstacle. He procured a number of stones, which he heated in the fire;
then filling one of the deep and rounded chama shells with water, he
proceeded to drop the heated stones into it, using a couple of sticks as
a pair of tongs. This process he continued until the water boiled, when
he remorselessly plunged the unhappy crabs therein, and from time to
time dropped in more of the heated stones, until the cookery was
complete.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

ARTHUR'S STORY.

BROWNE ON "THE KNIGHTLY CHARACTER"--ROKOA--THE CANNIBAL ISLAND OF
ANGATAN.

"This is no Grecian fable of fountains running wine,
Of hags with snaky tresses, and sailors turned to swine:
On yonder teeming island, under the noon day sun,
In sight of many people, these strange, dark deeds were done."

Having made a hearty and satisfactory supper, and concluded the meal
with a draught of cocoa-nut milk, we sat down, like the patriarchs of
old, "in the door of our tent" facing the sea, to enjoy the freshness of
the evening breeze.

Johnny, after having settled it to his own entire satisfaction, that the
shell in which his pearls had been found, was properly a mussel, and not
an oyster; and having also, by Arthur's