“And so that was the fate of the missing Sultana!” said the stranger, gravely.
“That was her fate,” repeated Justin.
“Were any of her crew or passengers saved besides yourselves?”
“We cannot tell! They took to the lifeboats! The first boat that left the ship sailed for the open sea, and we never heard of her fate. The second one attempted to reach the land, and was swamped. This lady and her companion were in that second boat when it went down. They were saved by means of the life-preservers that had been fastened round their waists. They were thrown on shore by the waves. The remainder of their boat’s crew perished, I fear.”
“And yourself?”
“The captain and myself were left on the wreck. The captain was washed overboard by a great wave. I escaped only by clinging fast to the shrouds of the mizzen mast, which was above water. When the sea went down, I managed to reach the shore over that reef of rocks, at the end of which our ship had struck.”
“And where our ship had very nearly been lost in the late tempest! You have been here nearly two years, you say. Good Heavens! how have you subsisted?”
“Partly by the natural productions of the island,” said Justin, evasively.
“And how have you got on with the natives?”
“There are no natives except beasts, birds, reptiles and insects.”