dismayed, scarcely able to realize the awful danger which lay before
him and those he loved.

Still onward, through the almost impenetrable darkness, went the
doomed ship, until, as the dense shadows began to clear and the storm
to cease, a sudden shock was felt by all--she had struck against some
rocks and was slowly sinking!

"We must be somewhere near land," the captain cried, his voice
sounding above the roaring waters.

By aid of the fast-breaking dawn, they could see the line of high,
dark rocks, upon which the ship had met her fate.

With much difficulty and peril, under the captain's cool directions,
the crew managed at last to leave the sinking vessel, not without much
loss of life. Out of nearly five hundred only a few arrived in safety,
amongst whom were Tonza, his wife, children, Savitre, and Panteleone.

When the day broke in calm splendor, the sun shown upon a mournful
sight--a group of shipwrecked men and women.

No sign of habitation met their view; only a weary waste of bare land,
sheltered by a few trees, from whose branches hung a goodly supply of
fruit.

"If we go farther inland, we are sure to find some natives, if only
savages," Tonza remarked gravely; and followed by the men, he
commenced the long, weary way.