226 CRUSOE'S ISLAND. 



gone some hardships ; but my ardor was still unabated, 

 and I continued to enjoy the simple pleasures of my 

 isolated life. 



My study of the birds had been extensive, but by 

 no means exhaustive, and, notwithstanding I had 

 catalogued nearly all the resident feathered inhabit- 

 ants of the island, I had not learned all there was to 

 be known about them. My desire for information 

 was insatiable; even if I could exhaust the birds, 

 there were other studies open to me in the realm of 

 Nature, such as botany, conchology, archaeology. A 

 lifetime would be too short in which to exhaust all 

 the resources of my island home. 



It was about a week after the hurricane that 

 Thomas Ned came to me with an expansive grin on 

 his face, which I knew from previous experience be- 

 tokened some new surprise. "Massa," he said, "you 

 no wan' go a-fishin', dis a fine day ? " 



I admitted that it might be an agreeable diver- 

 sion, and he led the way to the beach where my hut 

 had stood. As we reached the stream, across which 

 we had to leap to gain the beach, I noted Thomas Ned's 

 grin become, if possible, yet more vast, and following 

 the direction of his glance, saw floating in the land- 

 sheltered bay a fine " dugout." Then it was apparent 

 to me what my man had done with all his spare time, 

 the past few weeks. He had spent it in cutting down 

 and hewing out this canoe. It was really a fine one, 

 and I praised it until I had exhausted my vocabulary, 

 and set Thomas Ned upon a pinnacle of delight. 



" Ah, me massa, me t'ink um lak canoe, an' so me 



