"I want to go with you," she panted.
"Come along then," he responded quickly; and they moved on to join the others.
"We mustn't make up our minds that the place is an island until we've made the circuit of it," said Simon Quarle as they went on. "Romantic notions are one thing—but we may be quite near to civilization."
"It only shows, sir, what a wonderful thing schooling is," said Pringle, pausing for a moment, and speaking with the utmost respect. "Now when I was a nipper,—boy I mean, sir—I was only too glad to cut what lessons I could, sir. But suppose, for instance, I hadn't had it well rubbed into me that an island was a piece of land entirely surrounded by water—I might have got into quite a muddle over this. Shouldn't have known, sir, how to set about it to find out if it really was an island. Wonderful thing education, sir."
By means of a pocket compass which dangled on the watchchain of Simon Quarle they discovered first that they were going due south, and then that they were turning towards the west. It was at about the most western point of the island that they found that the character of the land changed, and that from some low hills a deep wood stretched down almost to the shore. Skirting this, and turning northward, they found their further progress barred by a great chain of rocks that rose abruptly from the more level ground and plunged also straight out into the sea. It was obviously impossible for them any longer to keep to the coast; they skirted this line of rocks inland, and came in a comparatively short time again to the sea. This time the coast pointed southwards; following it, they came to the boat drawn up on the beach, and to the little company of people they had left.
"I see exactly the shape of this place," said Simon Quarle, rapidly scraping out a rough design on the sand. "It is pear-shaped, with the narrowest part of the pear (where the stalk would be) to the north, and the broadest part of it running from east to west. There is only one question we've left unsettled; what is beyond those rocks?"
"The sea, of course," said Gilbert. "Though what part of the sea, or what this island is, or where we are, I haven't the least notion."
"The great question is—what are we going to live on?" asked Daniel Meggison, looking round upon the little company. "Fish we might procure, if anyone happened to be expert enough to capture them, or if we had rods and lines; certain berries might also be discovered which would sustain life. Of course in all probability so soon as the mist lifts we may be able to make signals, and to attract the attention of some passing ship."
"We must find out what lies beyond those rocks," said Bessie. "Will you come with me, Mr. Quarle?"
"I'll go with you," broke in Gilbert eagerly; but she kept her eyes fixed on Simon Quarle, and presently walked away with him.