Still, the brothers were glad to find, from Eric’s observations on the tableland, whence he kept a constant watch on the visitors’ movements, that, after a ten days’ stay they left the little island once more to them alone; although, as they also discovered to their grief a short time after their departure, the Tristaners took away with them the greater number of the goats on the plateau, or else killed them for their sustenance whilst they remained.
This was a sad discovery. The islanders were quite welcome to the pigs, thought the brother crusoes; but the flesh of the goats was so delicate and needful besides, as a change of diet to their ordinary salt provision, that any diminution of their numbers was a serious loss to them.
It was not until a week at least after the Tristaners had left, that Eric reported the presence of seals again on the west beach, where, probably, the fact of the islanders camping on the spot had quite as much to do with scaring away the timid creatures from the coast as the warfare waged upon them. Fortunately, however, the poor animals had an affection for the place; for, having now observed, no doubt from some of their number sent out as scouts, that their enemies had departed, they once more returned to the rock caverns they had before frequented.
“There are some of those ‘elephants,’ as you call them, amongst them, too,” said Eric when he came down the cliff with the news to Fritz. “There are a great many more than I saw last time.”
“Ah, we must try and catch some of the gentlemen this trip,” remarked Fritz. “Perhaps it will be the last chance we may have of capturing sea elephants!”
“Right you are,” replied the lad. “I’ll do my best to kill them; but really, brother, they look awfully formidable fellows!”
“Oh, they’re not half so dangerous as they look,” said Fritz. “They’re like your friends the penguins; their bark is worse than their bite!”
“Ha, ha!” laughed Eric good-temperedly; “you will continue to chaff me about those wretched birds I suppose! Never mind, though, I’ve got the joke about the billy-goat frightening you as a set-off, eh, brother?”
“That’s nothing—nothing!” said Fritz in an off-hand way. “We’d better see about starting round after the seals, I think.”
“Ah, it’s all very well your trying to get out of it like that!” retorted Eric, going off, laughing, to haul the whale-boat down into the bay; when, as soon as she was afloat and all their preparations made, they set off again round the headland for the sealing ground.