be above two feet long by a foot broad, and we carried it
home with us as a great prize.

Jack now took one of the leaflets, and cutting out the central spine or
stalk, hurried back with it to our camp. Having made a small fire, he
baked the nuts slightly and then peeled off the husks. After this he
wished to bore a hole in them, which, not having anything better at hand
at the time, he did with the point of our useless pencil-case. Then he
strung them on the cocoa-nut spine, and on putting a light to the
topmost nut we found, to our joy, that it burned with a clear, beautiful
flame, upon seeing which Peterkin sprang up and danced round the fire
for at least five minutes in the excess of his satisfaction.

"Now, lads," said Jack, extinguishing our candle, "the sun will set in
an hour, so we have no time to lose. I shall go and cut a young tree to
make my bow out of, and you had better each of you go and select good
strong sticks for clubs, and we'll set to work at them after dark."

So saying, he shouldered his axe and went off; followed by Peterkin;
while I took up the piece of newly discovered cloth, and fell to
examining its structure. So engrossed was I in this that I was still
sitting in the same attitude and occupation when my companions returned.

"I told you so!" cried Peterkin with a loud laugh.--"Oh Ralph, you're
incorrigible! See, there's a club for you. I was sure, when we left
you looking at that bit of stuff, that we would find you poring over it
when we came back, so I just cut a club for you as well as for myself."

"Thank you, Peterkin," said I. "It was kind of you to do that instead
of scolding me for a lazy fellow, as I confess I deserve."

"Oh, as to that," returned Peterkin, "I'll blow you up yet if you wish
it; only it would be of no use if I did, for you're a perfect mule!"

As it was now getting dark we lighted our candle, and placing it in a
holder made of two crossing branches inside of our bower, we seated
ourselves on our leafy beds and began to work.

"I intend to appropriate the bow for my own use," said Jack, chipping
the piece of wood he had brought with his axe. "I used to be a pretty
fair shot once.--But what's that you're doing?" he added, looking at
Peterkin, who had drawn the end of a long pole into the tent, and was
endeavouring to fit a small piece of the hoop-iron to the end of it.

"I'm going to enlist into the Lancers," answered Peterkin. "You see,
Jack, I find