By this time they were in the midst of the graceful, tall trees which held their plume-like heads high against the sky, as if in proud defiance of all such aspiring mortals as should wish to rob them of their royal crown of fruit. But now that they had reached the cocoanut grove, they found that there were a number of other trees of much lower growth in the neighborhood. On going up to these trees they found them to have very broad leaves that spread out from the top of the trunk, each leaf being held in an almost horizontal position by a thick, pulpy stem, from three to five feet in length. The lower round of leaves having the largest stems, and each row being somewhat shorter than the one beneath, forming a most agreeable shade, as its shape was that of an immense umbrella. Clustered closely around the trunk, and directly under the leaves, were about a dozen bright, orange-colored fruits, resembling a quince somewhat in shape, only larger. Allen was the first to see these, and called to Harry, “What are those trees ahead of us, do you know?”
“Yes, they are papiea trees, and the fruit is mighty good to eat, too.”
They were not long in gathering a number of these, and also some guavas, which they found in abundance. Now, as it was getting well on in the morning, and they were beginning to feel as if breakfast would be acceptable, they started back to the boat. They were rather disappointed at not having found any traces of fresh water, but hoped that the captain and Ben, who had gone in the opposite direction, had been more fortunate, and so indeed they had. Not far from where the boat was moored they came upon a little stream, whose limpid water hurrying over its rock-brown bed, was a joyful sight to the searchers. Passing a little beyond the shining brooklet, on whose bank they stopped a moment, both the captain and Ben taking a long draught of the sweet water, they came upon a lovely beach covered with bits of coral, shining sands and bright shells. Ben, running down to the water’s edge, soon turned with the exclamation, “It’s just as you thought, captain, when you said there should be plenty of crab, if we could find a good beach. See, here is a fine one, I have caught.” After working for some time they managed to capture eight fine crabs.
“Now,” said the captain, “I think we had better go back to camp with what we have, and delay our expedition until after breakfast. It will take some time to prepare these, even if Hans and the girls have managed to get a fire.”
“All right, just as you say, captain,” came the answer, “but if you will wait just a few minutes I will get some of that sea-weed we have seen clinging to the rocks. It makes first-rate eating.”
“What, that black, slippery looking stuff?” asked the captain.
“Yes, sir. The natives of several islands down in these parts eat it, and I have tasted it and it’s first rate.”
“That’s so,” said Captain Gray, “now I come to think of it, I have seen the natives of the Hawaiian Islands, and Samoa, eat it.”
So, gathering a quantity of the sea kale, they also started back for the boat.
In the meantime the girls and Hans had not been idle. They had searched in all directions for material to build a fire. They succeeded in finding a number of pieces of driftwood, which, during some storm had been cast high and dry on this rocky point. The captain had been fortunate enough to have kept some matches perfectly dry, as his little gold match-box, which he carried in an inner pocket, shut so tightly that not a drop of water had reached the now much needed and precious matches. The girls had arranged a fire all ready to light when any of the party came back, so that if they found any game or fish they would be able to cook it immediately. Consequently when captain and Ben returned, the fire was soon going, and the crabs put into the hot ashes to cook. Hans had found a comfortable shade from the sun behind some huge rocks which was very pleasant to the captain and Ben, who had not found a particle of shade during the time they were exploring and so were very much heated, for, although the hour was early the heat of the sun was intense.