"Yes; but after we reached the sea, it was too rough, and the wind was blowing too heavily from the north to make it safe to navigate in that direction, so we went south, probably ten miles, and drew[p. 228] ashore. The next morning when I awoke the boat and my companion were missing."
"Who was your companion?"
"Walter."
John looked indignant, and expressed his opinion very forcibly, but Clifford held up his hand, restrainingly. "Do not be too harsh. I have no ill will toward him. I did not know what to do, nor which way to turn, but went to the west, and before night, came, unexpectedly, on the remains of a fire, which led me to believe that I would find friends in the inhabitants.
"I went on and on, and caught up with the band, and was then horrified to find that they were having a feast, and sacrificing human beings. I saw Walter among the captives, but I could not contrive to let him know of my presence, and left the place as hurriedly as I could.
"After a month of struggling I reached the southern part of the island, and there, to my joy, found three of my companions on a life boat, belonging to a vessel called the Investigator, and together we made a course southeast, and there found the location of the second skull."
"But you knew nothing of that at the time, did you?"
"I did not know what the marks on the skull were for, but the finding of the second one was sufficient to revive in me the hope that, after all, the treasure might be found. One of the men, who was the intimate of Walter, figured out the course to be taken, and we reached the island to the north the second day.
"There, to our surprise, we found Walter, and he charged one of the men with me, with trying to secure the treasure, but I finally patched up the matter, and we agreed to work in concert. Then, when the next day, we found that Walter had lost the chart, we felt that it was a trick on his part to deceive us, and we separated. At that time I did not believe he told us the truth.