Now we were very much concerned about this discovery, and could
scarce refrain from tears on beholding these sad remains. After
some time, we began to talk about what we had seen, and to examine
in and around the hut, in order to discover some clue to the name
or history of this poor man, who had thus died in solitude, with
none to mourn his loss save his cat and his faithful dog. But we
found nothing, - neither a book nor a scrap of paper. We found,
however, the decayed remnants of what appeared to have been
clothing, and an old axe. But none of these things bore marks of
any kind; and, indeed, they were so much decayed as to convince us
that they had lain in the condition in which we found them for many
years.

This discovery now accounted to us for the tree stump at the top of
the mountain with the initials cut on it; also for the patch of
sugar-cane and other traces of man which we had met with in the
course of our rambles over the island. And we were much saddened
by the reflection that the lot of this poor wanderer might possibly
be our own, after many years' residence on the island, unless we
should be rescued by the visit of some vessel or the arrival of
natives. Having no clue whatever to account for the presence of
this poor human being in such a lonely spot, we fell to
conjecturing what could have brought him there. I was inclined to
think that he must have been a shipwrecked sailor, whose vessel had
been lost here, and all the crew been drowned except himself and
his dog and cat. But Jack thought it more likely that he had run
away from his vessel, and had taken the dog and cat to keep him
company. We were also much occupied in our minds with the
wonderful difference between the cat and the dog. For here we saw