Dick laughed scornfully. “Do you suppose that the dog would have got those birds by himself?” he asked. “You give him credit for more cleverness than he possesses.”
“I have told you I do not desire to hold any conversation with you,” said Lord Reginald, not inquiring for an explanation of the last remark Dick had made, though it somewhat puzzled him.
“You must take the consequences of your obstinacy, then!” exclaimed Dick, walking away with as haughty an air as Lord Reginald himself could have assumed.
The poor young lord resumed his uncongenial occupation, which Dick’s appearance had interrupted. The grave was dug, and the body of the midshipman dragged into it. He lost no time in covering it up, as it was painful to look upon those features, once so full of life and animation. “Are we two, then, the only survivors from the Marie?” exclaimed Lord Reginald. “I wish that some one else had been saved, though I now know for certain that the only ones with whom I could have associated are dead!”
Instead of setting to work to try and improve his condition, oppressed with lassitude, he lay for the remainder of the day in front of his cave, doing nothing.
Neptune remained by him for some time, then apparently getting weary of inaction, after playing about on the sand, scampered off into the interior.
“I hope that he has gone to get me another pigeon, or something else,” said Lord Reginald, when he found that the dog had disappeared. “Sagacious brute, he knows my wants, and is sure to bring me something.”
Hour after hour, however, passed by, and he began to get very hungry. The dog did not return, and evening was approaching. He at last got up, and set off for the spring, to obtain a draught of water, and hoping to find at all events another cocoanut in the palm grove, where he had procured the others. Having drunk as much water as he required, he searched about. Though numbers of cocoanuts grew on the trees above his head, he could not find one fallen to the ground. There were a few husks, which had been broken open and their contents abstracted. He looked about, expecting to see his dog. Neptune did not make his appearance. All he could do therefore, was to collect some more sticks to keep up his fire, after which he obtained some clams from the seashore, off which, though imperfectly cooked, he was fain to make his supper. He had just finished when he saw Neptune coming towards him, not scampering along as usual, but advancing slowly, with his tail between his legs. Lord Reginald looked out eagerly for the pigeon, but Neptune’s mouth had nothing in it. “What, my good dog, have you been unsuccessful in your hunting?” he said. “It is a bad look-out for me, as I shall have nothing but these clams. However, you shall share them with me.”
When, however, he offered the shell-fish to the dog, he refused to eat them, and, looking ashamed of himself, crouched down by his side.
Another night passed away. When the young lord tried to get up in the morning, his limbs ached, and he found himself much weaker than before. He became somewhat alarmed. “If this goes on I don’t know how it will end,” he said to himself. “It is evident that the clams do not agree with me; however, as I have nothing else, I must eat some for breakfast.”