CHAPTER XV.

MAKING THE BEST OF IT.

With the earliest dawn of morning Justin withdrew from his post and went and gathered some loose, dry sticks, and piled them up before the hole of the grotto, and but a short distance from it. Then he took some matches that he had brought in his pocket, and kindled a fire to protect Britomarte and her attendant from the approach of any beast of prey; for it is well known that no wild animal will ever venture to come near a fire.

Then leaving his sleeping charge, he took up his stout walking staff and hurried away as fast as he could go in the direction of the causeway. His wish and intention was to go to the ship and procure some provisions for Britomarte’s breakfast, and to return with them to the grotto before she should awake and miss him from his post.

Knowing now the way so well, and being relieved from the trouble of looking after the little dog, that he had left sleeping at the feet of Britomarte, he made much faster progress over the distance between the island and the ship than he made on the preceding day.

He plunged straight ahead through the thicket, without the slightest regard to briers and brambles. He passed over the mountain with more haste than care; but finally he reached the landward end of the causeway with safety as well as with swiftness.

Then he set out to walk across the causeway to the ship. He hurried on without much respect to discretion, dropping himself down the steeps; with the aid of his walkingstaff, which he used as a leaping pole, flinging himself across the chasms; and running on all the level places until he reached the ship and jumped upon the leaning bows, which were down upon the level of the causeway.

He found the ship very much in the same condition in which he had left it, and in which it might remain for an indefinite length of time.

He found also plenty of work to do, and he hastened to do it. First of all, the poor cat met him on the deck, with every demonstration of delight a dumb creature could make. That was his welcome. But, of course, she had lapped up all the milk he had left for her in the cabin, and she wanted more.

He went immediately to the pens to look after the condition of the animals, and he found that they also had consumed all the provender he had placed there for them, and they were clamorous for a new supply. He hastened to the storeroom and mixed mashes and brought to the pens and fed all the creatures plentifully. Then he milked the cow and fed the cat. For even in his eager impatience to get back to the island with provisions for his own suffering love, he could not neglect the sacred duty of relieving the wants of these poor dumb brutes, which were so utterly helpless and dependent upon his kindness.

These duties faithfully discharged, he passed into the storeroom to attend to the business upon which he had especially come. He looked up a large basket with a cover, and he proceeded to fill it with parcels of tea, coffee, sugar, biscuit, butter, bacon, pepper and salt, and a bottle of milk. Next he went to the pens again and found the hens’ nests, and collected about a dozen fresh eggs, which he also added to his store.

Then he ascended to the dining-saloon, and from the mounds of _debris_ there he picked out a few knives, forks and spoons, and cups, saucers and plates, that had escaped the general crash, and put them in with the provisions. And he took a tablecloth and folded it and laid it over all the contents of the basket, which was now quite full, and upon which he shut down and fastened the cover.

Next he went down into the caboose and looked up a teakettle, a fryingpan, a teapot and a coffeeboiler, and tied them together by the handles and hung them upon a pair of tongs, which he slung over his left shoulder. And with his heavy basket of provisions on his left arm, and the handle of the tongs in his left hand, and his stout walkingstaff grasped in his right hand, he left the wreck and set out upon his return to the island.

Britomarte was up and about when he returned.

“Good-morning, sister; I hope you rested well,” was his cheerful, smiling greeting, as he carefully set the basket down and dropped the cooking utensils, and stretched his cramped arms.

“Thanks to your kind guardianship, very well,” said Britomarte, cordially.

“You are staring at that basket, Judith,” said Justin, laughing. “Well, I have been to the ship, and brought off some provisions for breakfast. The greater part of the ship’s stores are spoiled by the wetting they got in the storm; but still there is a considerable quantity, which, from its position, escaped injury.”

The breakfast was very leisurely eaten. It was a pleasure to linger over that _tête-à-tête_ meal; and it was prolonged as much as possible.

When it was over, Britomarte and Justin withdrew from it, leaving Judith to her undisputed privilege of washing up the service.

“The first thing to be done,” said Justin, as they walked apart, “is to provide shelter. There is no time to be lost before it is done. The grotto, it is true, is better than the open sky, and it is well enough at night.”

This grotto was at the inland base of that long mountain that Justin crossed in coming from the causeway to the center of the island. It was entered by a hole about seven feet high by three broad. Around this hole, and up the entire side of the mountain, the whole surface was richly clothed with a thicket of shrubs and saplings wherever they could find root hold in the soil between the rocks, and it presented a most beautiful appearance. In front of the grotto was the small natural opening in the woods, where our little party had made their fire and eaten their breakfast.

Passing in through this hole of the rock, or doorway of the grotto, as it might be called, Justin and Britomarte found themselves in a spacious cave, of oval form and great natural beauty. The floor was nearly level, and the walls rose in the form of a dome, in the top of which was a fissure that let in the sun; and floor and walls were all of the most brilliant white stone, that reflected back the sunlight with the lustre of frosted silver. The whole size of the place was about that of a large family drawing-room.

“It is a palace for a fairy!—a bower for a queen!” said Justin, in admiration.

And then they turned and left the grotto to look after Judith.