Edgar was silent. He knew words would avail nothing.
‘How did you find me?’ asked Manton.
Edgar related how his father received a letter, and his own determination to set out in quest of him in order to ascertain the truth.
‘And you did this for my sake?’ said Manton.
‘I must not take too much credit for that,’ said Edgar. ‘A love of adventure prompted me, and, although I hardly credited your being alive, yet I knew it was not impossible.’
‘And where am I, and how long have I been here?’ asked Manton wonderingly.
‘You are on the island of Tana, in the New Hebrides,’ said Edgar. ‘You were no doubt picked up by a schooner on its way to the South Seas from Sydney.’
‘It is all very strange,’ said Manton. ‘I must have been near to death when I was rescued from the sea.’
‘Your sufferings were so great that your mind became deranged,’ said Edgar. ‘With complete rest, and amongst your friends, you will speedily recover.’
Manton shook his head despondingly. He was in a melancholy mood, and his mind was not quite balanced. As Edgar looked at him his heart was full of pity for him, and he fervently hoped it would not be many weeks before Captain Manton was fully recovered both in mind and body.