When the monkeys had ceased howling, Pedro began his watch, and I tried to obtain some rest. Ned Gale, with his sailor habits, very quickly was lost in the land of dreams; but I was not so fortunate. I saw that Pedro was reading, and I did not wish to interrupt him. He every now and then shut his book and looked about him. He appeared to me to be on the watch in expectation of some threatened danger. At last I gave up the attempt to sleep as hopeless. There was something in the air of the place, I believe, which affected me. My young companion had been sitting for some minutes lost in meditation.
“What are you thinking about, Pedro?” I asked.
“Of my father and mother,” he answered, with a sigh.
“Why, I thought you never knew them,” I observed.
“I have often dreamed of them though,” he said. “Do you know, Señor David, that I sometimes fancy I may some day discover them. Had I the means of becoming educated as you are, and of obtaining a fortune, I would employ it in searching for them.”
“If we succeed in getting to England, I am sure my friends, in gratitude to you, will put you in the way of making your fortune,” I replied. “But I own I cannot see how this will enable you to find your parents, without any clue to guide you.”
“God, if He thinks fit, will point out the way,” he answered. “I put my trust in Him.”
I could say no more. This idea had, I found, become the absorbing one of his mind.
“If my parents live, He too will show me the means through which I may discover them,” I thought.
I had never yet been thoroughly convinced of their loss. I was perfectly helpless I knew, and I felt forcibly that on Him alone could I place my trust. The feeling brought comfort and consolation; and lying down again, a soothing sleep soon stole over me.