But, why?
The mystery was as deep as ever.
Robert had buried the bodies of the sailors in the sand in graves dug with an old bayonet that he had found in the house, and he interred the captain in the same manner, only much deeper.

Then he went back to the house and rested a long time.

The awful loneliness that he had feared came upon him, and he wrestled with it for hours.

That night it became worse than ever, but it was so acute that it exhausted itself, and the next morning he felt better.
Resolved not to mope, he took down the rifle, put some of the smoked beef in his pocket, and started on a long exploration, meaning to cross the high hills that ran down the center of the island, and see what the other half was like.
In the brilliant sunshine his spirits took another rise.

After all, he could be much worse off.