ed made us regard them as
something on which very probably depended the fate of our adventure. After
a brief discussion, in which we both of us expressed our resolution of not
descending into the bay until the ship's departure, I suggested to my
companion that little of it as there was, we should divide the bread into
six equal portions, each of which should be a day's allowance for both of
us. This proposition he assented to; so I took the silk kerchief from my
neck, and cutting it with my knife into half a dozen equal pieces,
proceeded to make an exact division.

At first, Toby, with a degree of fastidiousness that seemed to me
ill-timed, was for picking out the minute particles of tobacco with which
the spongy mass was mixed; but against this proceeding I protested, as by
such an operation we must have greatly diminished its quantity.

When the division was accomplished, we found that a day's allowance for
the two was not a great deal more than what a table-spoon might hold. Each
separate portion we immediately rolled up in the bit of silk prepared for
it, and joining them all together into a small package, I committed them,
with solemn injunctions of fidelity, to the custody of Toby. For the
remainder of that day we resolved to fast, as we had been fortified by a
breakfast in the morning; and now starting again to our feet, we looked
about us for a shelter during the night, which, from the appearance of the
heavens, promised to be a dark and tempestuous one.

There was no place near us which would in any way answer our purpose; so
turning our backs upon Nukuheva, we commenced exploring the unknown
regions which lay upon the other side of the mountain.

In this direction, as far as our vision extended, not a sign of life, nor
anything that denoted even the transient residence of man could be seen.
The whole landscape seemed one unbroken solitude, the interior of the
island having apparently been untenanted since the morning of the
creation; and as we advanced through this wilderness, our voices sounded
strangely in our ears, as though human accents had never before disturbed
the fearful silence of the place, interrupted only by the low murmurings
of distant waterfalls.

Our disappointment, however, in not finding the various fruits with which
we had intended to regale ourselves during our stay in these wilds, was a
good deal lessened by the consideration that from this very circumstance
we should be much less exp