after a storm-tossed night, was an impossible achievement
owing to the lack of water.

So Iris tackled the contents of the bowl with a vigorous appetite oddly
at variance with the seeming weakness that ended in a prolonged
fainting fit, and the hospitable Brazilians, to whom this fair English
girl was a revelation in feature and clothing, bestirred themselves to
provide further dainties. But, excepting some fruit, Iris had the
wisdom to refuse other food just then. Her thoughts were rapidly
becoming coherent, and she realized that a heavy meal might be
absolutely disastrous. If the men made good their project she would be
called on within an hour to cross the island. It seemed reasonable
that, hungry though she was, she would be better fitted to climb the
island hills at a fast pace if she ate sparingly. Still, she longed
for a drink of water, and taxed her small stock of Spanish to make
known her desire.

"Agua, senhora," she said with a smile, and the delight of mother and
daughter was great, since they thought she could speak their language.

Therein, of course, they were disappointed, but not more so than Iris
when she tasted the brackish fluid alone procurable on the south coast
of Fernando Noronha. That was a fortunate thing in itself. Only those
who have endured real thirst can tell how hard it is to refrain from
drinking deeply when water is ultimately obtained; but the mixture of
milk and eggs had already soothed her parched mouth and palate, and she
quickly detected an unpleasantly salt flavor in the beverage they gave
her.

Then she set herself to discover her whereabouts. The women were eager
to impart information, but, alas, Iris's brain had regained its
every-day limitations, and she could make no sense of their words. At
last, seeing that the door was barred and the hut was innocent of any
other opening, she stood upright, and signified by a gesture that she
wished to go out. There could be no mistaking the distress, even the
positive alarm, created by this demand. The girl clasped her hands in
entreaty, and the older woman evidently tried most earnestly to
dissuade her visitor from a proceeding fraught with utmost danger.

Being quite certain that they meant to be friendly, Iris sat down
again. She knew, of course, that Marcel would come for her, if
possible, and the relief displayed by her unknown entertainers was so
marked that she resolved to await his appearance quietly. She would