new friends in our best trim.

We then gave a shout and a wave of the hand, and shot off round the
cape as fast as our boat would take us. We soon got back to Rock House,
where our dear ones were on the look-out for us. My wife said we had
done quite right to come back, but Jane thought we should have found
out who they were.

That night none of us slept well; our guest thought there might now be
a chance for her to reach her home, and she dreamed she heard the
well-known voice of her sire call her to come to him. The boys were
half crazed with vague hopes, and lay for hours ere they went to sleep.
My wife and I sat up late to think and talk of the use that might be
made of this chance. We felt that we were now full of years, and should
not like in our old age to leave the place where we had spent the best
part of our lives; still we might do some trade with the land from
which the ship came, if it were but known that we were here, and we
might hear news of our dear Swiss home.

At break of day we put on board our boat a stock of fruit and fresh
food of all kinds, such as we thought the crew of the ship would like
to have, and Fritz and I set sail for the bay. We took with us all the
arms we could find, so as not to be at a loss should the crew prove
false to their flag, and turn out to be a set of thieves.

As we drew near the ship I fired a gun, and told Fritz to hoist a flag
like theirs to the top of our mast, and as we did so the crew gave a
loud cheer. I then went on board, and the mate of the ship led me to
his chief, who soon put me at my ease by a frank shake of the hand. I
then told him who we were, and how we came to dwell on the isle. I