Chapter 2
The children had never returned to the old place. They had kept entirely to the back of the island and the woods--the lagoon, down to a certain point, and the reef; a wide enough and beautiful enough world, but a hopeless world, as far as help from civilisation was concerned. For, of the few ships that touched at the island in the course of years, how many would explore the lagoon or woods? Perhaps not one. Occasionally d**k would make an excursion in the dinghy to the old place, but Emmeline refused to accompany him. He went chiefly to obtain bananas; for on the whole island there was but one clump of banana trees--that near the water source in the wood, where the old green skulls had been discovered, and the little barrel. She had never quite recovered from the occurrence on the reef.
- Writer
