U niversity
of
O regon M o n thly
gg
a bafid of Curlews come into a little cove and he was after them im
mediately. He was not long away, but when he returned he had his
ai ms full of dead birds which he had killed with small stones.. It
was twenty hours since any of the four had tasted food and they
were nearly famished. It was not long, however, before the birds
were made ready to eat. Jim had found a half hollow rock on the
beach and in this he made broth for Vivian.
It was only after she had thoroughly regained consciousness and
was beginning to get back her strength that Vivian really began to
show her grief. As the hours went by and she came to a full rea
lization that she was now an orphan, her grief was pitiful. Day
after day added to her despair.
- In these trying days Harry was her main solace. With a care
ful tact and a wonderful persuasive power he spent days with the
wretched girl, soothing her and helping her to bear her grief. Very
cleverly he drew into the conversation many' incidents and anec
dote^ from his own life and by keeping her mind off the subject of
her grief Harry was largely responsible for the ultimate return of
Vivian’s health and buoyancy. By his versatility and cleverness^
Harry had calmed her distressed soul until Vivian resolved in her
own mindothat she yet had something to live for, even in this wild
island of the sea.
For .some time after their arrival on shore the refugees had not
had time to explore their surroundings. They had been busy lay
ing up a food supply and building a roof of branchs on the edge of
the be.ach to protect them from the tropical sun. Wild birds were
abundant and they had caught some fish; tropical fruits were dis
covered in the trees of the forest along the shore.
An exploration revealed the fact that the four were on an island
a small one. There seemed no doubt that it was uninhabited. Not a
soul had been seen since they landed. Their situation was indeed
serious-.
With all their privations Vivian did not suffer much. There
were three men on the island with her any one of whom was ready
to be her slave, as the novelists say. Each one was a noble expo
nent of a distinct type and to each she owed much.
One day she sauntered off alone down along the beach. She
was feeling sad and lonely for her father. As she walked slowly
along she rounded a little point and almost ran into Jim coming