"We shall reach it about moonrise to-night, if the wind holds as it is now."
"And what, may I ask, do you intend doing with this—Richard Grove, when you get there? Will you take him into your Robinson Crusoe castle and nurse him until he gets well, as that enterprising canoe-builder did Friday's father?
"No, I think not. There is an old lady on the island, who is never so happy as when she has some one to nurse. I think we'll consign him to her."
"Then there is another habitation on the island beside yours?" said Drummond, looking up with more interest than he had yet manifested.
"Yes; old Mrs. Tom, a distant connection of our family, I believe. And, by the way, Drummond, there is a pretty little girl in the case. I suppose that will interest you more than the old woman."
"Pretty girls are an old story by this time," said Drummond, with a yawn.
"Yes, with such a renowned lady-killer as you, no doubt."
"I never saw but one girl in the world worth the trouble of loving," said Drummond, looking thoughtfully into the water.
"Ah, what a paragon she must have been. May I ask what quarter of the globe has the honor of containing so peerless a beauty?"
"I never said she was a beauty, mon ami. But never mind that. When do you expect to be ready for sea again?"