"'Welcome, fair stranger! God, in his mercy, has heard your call, and has sent me to your aid!'
"Miss Montrose came quickly forward—"
"Who? What?" shouted the boys, interrupting the narrative; "who came forward?" and amid a general hubbub, Ernest, rising and advancing to his brother, said in his quiet way:
"I did not like to make any remark till you actually let out the secret, Fritz, but we need no longer pretend not to see through the disguise of Edward Montrose."
Fritz, though much disconcerted by the discovery of the secret, recovered his self-possession; and, after bearing with perfect equanimity the jokes with which his brothers assailed him, joined in three cheers for their new sister, and when the confusion and laughter which ensued had subsided, continued his story:
"Miss Montrose grasped my hands warmly, and guessing from my pronunciation, I am afraid, that I was not in the habit of speaking English every day of my life, said in French:
"'Long, long, have I waited since the bird returned with your message.
Thank God, you have come at last!'
"Then, with tears of joy and gratitude, she led me to the shore, where she had built a hut and a safe sleeping place, like Falconhurst on a small scale, among the branches of a tree. I was delighted with all she showed me, for indeed her hut and its fittings evinced no ordinary skill and ingenuity. Round the walls hung bows, arrows, lances, and bird snares; while on her worktable, in boxes and cases, carved skilfully with a knife, were fishhooks of mother-of-pearl, needles made from fish bones, and bodkins from the beaks of birds, fishing lines of all sorts, and knives and other tools. These latter she told me were, with a chest of wearing apparel, almost the only things washed ashore after the wreck, when three years ago she was cast alone upon this desolate coast. I marveled more and more at the wonderful way in which this girl had surmounted obstacles, the quarter of which would completely have appalled the generality of her sex. The hut itself was a marvel of skill; stout posts had been driven into the ground, with cross pieces of bamboo, to form a framework; the walls had been woven with reeds, the roof thatched with palm leaves, and the whole plastered smoothly with clay, an open space being left in the center of the roof for a chimney to carry off the smoke of the fire.
"As we entered, a cormorant, with a cry of anger, flew from under the table toward me, and was about to attack me fiercely. Miss Montrose called it off, and she then told me she had captured and tamed the bird soon after first landing, and since that time had contrived to train it to assist her in every conceivable way; it now not only was a pleasant companion, but brought her food of every description, fish, flesh and fowl, for whether it dived into the waters, according to its natural habit, struck down birds upon the wing, or seized rabbits and other small animals upon the land, it laid all its booty at her feet.
"Before darkness closed in, all the curiosities and ingenious contrivances of the place had been displayed—the kitchen stove, cooking utensils, skin bottles, shell plates and spoons, the fishing raft and numberless other things—and then, as I sat with my fair hostess at a most appetizing meal she gave me a short account of her life.