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LANDING ON THE DESERT ISLAND 9
geese and ducks were heading. I steered for it too, and found it was the entrance to a little bay; the water was neither too deep nor too shallow to receive our boat. So we entered it and ran ashore.
The moment our unwieldy boat grated on the shingle the elder boys leaped out, and even little Francis, who had been wedged in his tub like a potted herring, sprang forward. The dogs, who had arrived first, greeted us with every demonstration of joy; the geese kept up a loud cackling, and the ducks contributed a deep quacking ; the cocks and hens clucked; and the boys chattered all together. To this was added the disagreeable scream of some penguins and flamingoes, which flew over our heads or sat on the points of the rocks at the entrance of the bay.
The first thing we did on finding ourselves safe on dry land was to fall on our knees and utter a short thanksgiving to God our Father.
We next unloaded the boat, and then looked about for a convenient place to set up a tent under the shade of the rocks. Having agreed upon a place, we set to work, and drove one of our poles firmly into a fissure of the rock; this rested upon another pole, which was driven perpendicularly into |
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