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50 Written for Burke’s Weekly. MAROONER’S ISLAND ; OR, Dr. Gordon in Search of His Children. BY REV. F . II . GOULDINO, Author of “ The Young Marooner». ,> CHAPTER VI. SCOUTING AND FISHING —A PROPOSITION. Bjv A R L Y next morning, k when the men had gath y/ ered around their fire, in I preparation for breakfast, r ere perplexed at the non ance of Jones and Wildcat, e could tell how, when or iey had so unceremoniously their departure. Simpson, who was the last on guard duty, said that just at daybreak, when his face was turn ed towards the sea, he heard the hollow tread of someone walking, but ho saw nobody, and had no suspicion that any one wished to desert. Indeed no one sup posed that either of the missing ones were guilty of desertion , for Jones was too good, a soldier to think of it, and for Wildcat there was no motive. While they were engaged in discussing the probabilities of the case, they saw the two emerge from a little recess in the cove, each bringing a mess of delightful-looking fish, sheep head, whiting and eavally, strung by their gills on a stalk of marsh grass, knotted at one end. Wildcat came with his to Dr. Gordon, and presented them with a look and man ner of undoubting satisfaction. Jones brought his to Tomkins, whose brow was somewhat clouded, and said to him in a free and easy way, betokening a clear conscience, “I was sorry, Sargent, to go off without asking leave, but you were all fast asleep, and I concluded, as we were not on strict duty, and I was fully certain of doing what you all would like, that it was best to take leave first, and ask for it afterwards, and I shall feel much ob liged if you and the Captain here ” (look ing at Dr. Gordon) “ will grant it to me now.” “So far as I am concerned,” said Dr. Gordon, “you have it from the time you left.” “It was not soldierly,” Tomkins rather sternly replied, “to go off without leave, and I hope none of the men will do the like again. But as no harm was done this time we will let it pass.” The fine mess of fresh-looking fish ex cited Dr. Gordon’s admiration, and he remarked it was a great pity they had not been brought a few minutes earlier, as they would have made a pheasant ad dition to the breakfast of the men. BURKE’S WEEKLY. “If you will allow me ten minutes time,” said Jones, “you will not say that they have come too late.” The Doctor and Tomkins exchanged looks, and the latter answered — “We will give you a trial. But you must not neglect your own breakfast, for we are almost ready to spread sail.” Jones gave a nod of invitation to the others, who all followed him to the fire, where he distributed the fish among them, selecting several of the finest, which he wrapped in the green leaves of the pal metto, and thrust fluttering under the hot embers. In a very few minutes he took them out, put them on a clean pal metto leaf, stripped off their skin and the scales attached, skillfully separated from the bones the white flesh, which he trans ferred to a hot plate, and bore smoking and steaming to be enjoyed by Dr. Gor don, who pronounced the cookery capital. Just before the tent was taken down preparatory to embarking, Wildcat came to Dr. Gordon, who was alone, and said, “Jones and Wildcat been on a scout. Tell Tomkins call Jones and hear what he say.” Dr. Gordon hesitated a moment, when Wildcat earnestly reiterated, “ Call Tomkins. Moccasin too near.’/ Tomkins came, as requested, and sum moned Jones, who, as soon as he w r as freed from the presence of the other men, went on to say, “ Sergeant, I had anoth er object besides fishing, in going out this morning. Just at tattoo last night, Wild cat came and whispiered in my ear, ‘Eesta chattay* in the bush.’ I asked him why he thought so. He pulled me along to the edge of yon cedar thicket, where we heard something moving off very slowly and softly. I told him to say nothing about it to the men, but to join me at daybreak this morning, when we would kill two birds with one stone, by going both a-scouting and a-fishing. As soon as it was light, we went to the spot where the sounds had come from, and saw there the print of two pairs of moccasins in the sand not forty steps from our fire.” “Did you follow the track?” asked Tomkins hastily. “ I did,” Jones repdied. “It came from the south, and it ended on the beach, where the persons seem to have gone off in a canoe.” “How do you know they did not go along the beach in the shallow of the tide water?” inquired Tomkins. “Because I followed the beach to a muddy creek, and saw no signs of a trail coming out. The persons must either * Red man. have gone off in a canoe or taken to the water.” Tomkins looked grave. “ I will go and see for myself. Jones, you may return to the company ; but say nothing to them about this. Doctor, can you spare Wild cat for a little while, to go with me ?” “Certainly,” replied the Doctor, “and go myself, too, if you have no objection.” On arriving at the ground and looking about, Dr. Gordon could not but admire the ease and precision with.which the keen eyes of Tomkins and Wildcat ena bled them, not only to discover human footprints in the soil, where to his un practiced sight there was scarcely a visi ble impression, but also to distinguish the tracks from each other by their differ ence in size and shape, and also to decide how many hours had elapsed since they were left. As he was in the act of ma king some remark upon the subject, an expressive Indian grunt from Wildcat, (for which we have no suitable spelling unless it be Ugh ! or Umpih !) called their attention, and they saw him bending over an impression in the sand, which Tom kins instantly recognized as the mark left by the butt of a rifle. The barge was by this time ready for sailing; and when Dr. Gordon and Tom kins, on their return, came within ear shot of the conversation there, they could scarcely avoid laughing to learn the de vice of Jones for averting the suspicions of the men. He had given them a very interesting account of the curious object which the two superiors had gone out, under Wildcat’s guidance, to examine, namely, the skulls of two large bucks that had engaged in a fight in which their horns had become inextricably lock ed, and they had, consequently, perished from starvation, or had been drowned —a fact in natural history that does some times occur, but which, on the present occasion, had its existence only in the fertile fancy of the narrator. ♦♦♦ Population of Great Towns. The population of London in the mid dle of the present year is estimated by the Register-General at 3,082,372; of Ed inburgh (city,) 170,081 ; of Dublin (city and some suburbs,) 319,210 ; of the bor ough of Liverpool, 492,439; of the city of Manchester, 363,823; of the borough of Salford, 115,013; of the city of Glas gow, 440,979; of the borough of Birming ham, 343,948 ; of the borough of Leeds, 232,428; of the borough of Sheffield, 225,199; of the city of Bristol, 165,572; of the borough of Newcastle-on-Tyne, 124,960; of the borough of Hull, 106,740.