222 CRUSOE'S ISLAND. 



as if to drop a silent tear, and coughed. Then he 

 winked one eye at Thomas Ned ; at least, he drew 

 down the nictitating membrane slowly, deliberately, 

 and having thus " wiped liis eye," as it were, went on 

 with his breakfast. 



He was discreetly uncommunicative on that point, 

 and Thomas Ned* turned to me triumphantly : " Wha' 

 um done tell yo', massa ? Um say dese bery wo'ds : 

 dat Jimcrack git red ob he wife de fust oppertunumty ; 

 an' now he done jesso." Polly said nothing, but I 

 really believe he understood it all, for he winked 

 again, this time at me, but went on eating his banana. 

 After the meal was finished he begged to be excused, 

 by bowing low and retreating backward, and flew up 

 to the denuded palm tree, where he uttered a loud 

 call-cry. It was answered instantly, and out of the 

 woods came no less a personage than Mrs. Polly Psit- 

 tacus, who had evidently been in hiding for the de- 

 nouement of this very scene, in which her sagacious 

 husband so neatly turned the tables on Thomas Ned. 

 They flew down to the table, bobbing and bowing 

 most ludicrously, Mrs. Polly wild with delight at see- 

 ing me again, and Mr. Polly just on the point of 

 bursting with pride and importance. 



As for the discomfited Thomas Ned, I fear he 

 did not participate in the joy of reunion. It is easy 

 to forgive one for turning out worse than we have 

 predicted ; but it is altogether different when one 

 turns out better ! 



One by one, the most of our scattered family came 

 straggling back, until all were re-established in their 



