that Nukuheva lay spread out below on the other.
But here we were disappointed. Instead of finding the mountain we had
ascended sweeping down in the opposite direction into broad and capacious
valleys, the land appeared to retain its general elevation, only broken
into a series of ridges and inter-vales, which as far as the eye could
reach stretched away from us, with their precipitous sides covered with
the brightest verdure, and waving here and there with the foliage of
clumps of woodland; among which, however, we perceived none of those trees
upon whose fruit we had relied with such certainty.

This was a most unlooked-for discovery, and one that promised to defeat
our plans altogether, for we could not think of descending the mountain on
the Nukuheva side in quest of food. Should we for this purpose be induced
to retrace our steps, we should run no small chance of encountering the
natives, who in that case, if they did nothing worse to us, would be
certain to convey us back to the ship for the sake of the reward in calico
and trinkets, which we had no doubt our skipper would hold out to them as
an inducement to our capture.

What was to be done? The _Dolly_ would not sail perhaps for ten days, and
how were we to sustain life during this period? I bitterly repented our
improvidence in not providing ourselves, as we easily might have done,
with a supply of biscuit. With a rueful visage I now bethought me of the
scanty handful of bread I had stuffed into the bosom of my frock, and felt
somewhat desirous to ascertain what part of it had weathered the rather
rough usage it had experienced in ascending the mountain. I accordingly
proposed to Toby that we should enter into a joint examination of the
various articles we had brought from the ship. With this intent we seated
ourselves upon the grass; and a little curious to see with what kind of
judgment my companion had filled his frock--which I remarked seemed about
as well lined as my own--I requested him to commence operations by
spreading out its contents.

Thrusting his hand, then, into the bosom of his capacious receptacle, he
first brought to light about a pound of tobacco, whose component parts
still adhered together, the whole outside being covered with soft
particles of sea-bread. Wet and dripping, it had the appearance of having
been just recovered from the bottom of the sea. But I paid slight
attention to a substance of so little value to us in our present
sit