CHAPTER I.

“Forthwith a guard at every gun
Was placed along the wall;
The beacon blazed upon the roof
Of Edgecombe's lofty hall;
And many a fishing bark put out,
To pry along the coast;
And with loose rein, and bloody spur
Rode inland many a post.”
The Spanish Armada. Macauley.

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The building of the houses, and of the schooner, was
occupation for everybody, for a long time. The first were
completed in season to escape the rains; but the last was
on the stocks fully six months after her keel had been laid.
The fine weather had returned, even, and she was not yet
launched. So long a period had intervened since Waally's
visit to Rancocus Island without bringing any results, that
the council began to hope the Indians had given up their
enterprises, from the consciousness of not having the
means to carry them out; and almost every one ceased to
apprehend danger from that quarter. In a word, so
smoothly did the current of life flow, on the Reef and at
Vulcan's Peak, that there was probably more danger of
their inhabitants falling into the common and fatal error
of men in prosperity, than of anything else; or, of their
beginning to fancy that they deserved all the blessings that
were conferred on them, and forgetting the hand that bestowed
them. As is to recall them to a better sense of
things, events now occurred which it is our business to

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relate, and which aroused the whole colony from the sort
of pleasing trance into which they had fallen, by the united
influence of security, abundance, and a most seductive
climate.

As time rolled on, in the first place, the number of the
colony had begun to augment by natural means. Friend
Martha had presented Friend Robert with a little Robert;
and Bridget made Mark the happy parent of a very charming
girl. This last event occurred about the commencement
of the summer, and just a twelvemonth after the
happy reunion of the young couple. According to Mark's
prophecy, Jones had succeeded with Joan, and they were
married even before the expiration of the six months mentioned.
On the subject of a marriage ceremony there was
no difficulty, Robert and Martha holding a Friends' meeting
especially to quiet the scruples of the bride, though
she was assured the form could do no good, since the
bridegroom did not belong to meeting. The governor read
the church service on the occasion, too, which did no
harm, if it did no good. About this time, poor Peters,
envying the happiness of all around him, and still pining
for his Petrina, or Peggy, as he called her himself, begged
of the governor the use of the Dido, in order that he might
make a voyage to Waally's group in quest of his lost companion.
Mark knew how to feel for one in the poor fellow's
situation, and he could not think of letting him go
alone on an expedition of so much peril. After deliberating
on the matter, he determined to visit Rancocus Island
himself — not having been in that direction, now, for
months—and to go in the Neshamony, in order to take a
couple of hogs over; it having long been decided to commence
breeding that valuable animal, in the wild state, on
the hills of that uninhabited land.

The intelligence that a voyage was to be made to Rancocus
Island seemed to infuse new life into the men of the
colony, every one of whom wished to be of the party. The
governor had no objection to indulging as many as it might
be prudent to permit to go; but he saw the necessity of
putting some restraint on the movement. After canvassing
the matter in the council, it was determined that, in addition
to Mark and Peters, who went of course, the party

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should consist of Bob, Bigelow, and Socrates. The carpenter
was taken to look for trees that might serve to make
the ways of the schooner, which had yet to be launched;
and the latter was thought necessary in his capacity of a
cook. As for Betts, he went along as the governor's counsellor
and companion.

Bridget's little girl was born in the cabin of the ship;
and the week preceding that set for the voyage, she and
the child were taken across to the Peak, that the former
might spend the period of ner husband's absence with
Anne, in the Garden of Eden. These absences and occasional
visits gave a zest to lives that might otherwise have
become too monotonous, and were rather encouraged than
avoided. It was, perhaps, a little strange that Bridget
rather preferred the Reef than the Peak for a permanent
residence; but there was her much-beloved ship, and there
she ever had her still more beloved husband for a companion.

On the appointed day, the Neshamony set sail, having
on board a family of three of the swine. The plan for the
excursion included a trip to the volcano, which had not
yet been actually visited by any of the colonists. Mark
had been within a league of it, and Bob had passed quite
near to it in his voyage to the Peak; but no one had ever
positively landed, or made any of those close examinations
of the place, which, besides being of interest in a general
way, was doubly so to those who were such near neighbours
to a place of the kind. This visit Mark now decided
to make on his way to leeward, taking the volcano
in his course to Rancocus Island. The détour would lead
the Neshamony some fifteen or eighteen leagues on one
side; but there was abundance of time, and the volcano
ought to be no longer neglected.

The wind did not blow as fresh as in common, and the
Neshamony did not draw near to the volcano until late in
the afternoon of the day she sailed. The party approached
this place with due caution, and not without a good deal
of awe. As the lead was used, it was found that the water
shoaled gradually for several leagues, becoming less and
less deep as the boat drew near to the cone, which was
itself a circular and very regular mountain, of some six or

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eight hundred feet in height, with a foundation of dry rock
and lava, that might have contained a thousand acres.
Everything seemed solid and permanent; and our mariners
were of opinion there was very little danger of this formation
ever disappearing below the surface of the sea again.

The volcano being in activity, some care was necessary
in landing. Mark took the Neshamony to windward, and
found a curvature in the rocks where it was possible to get
ashore without having the boat knocked to pieces. He
and Bob then went as near the cone as the falling stones
would allow, and took as good a survey of the place as
could be done under the circumstances. That there would
be soil, and plenty of it, sooner or later, was plain enough;
and that the island might become a scene of fertility and
loveliness, in the course of ages, like so many others of
volcanic origin in that quarter of the world, was probable.
But that day was distant; and Mark was soon satisfied
that the great use of the spot was its being a vent to what
would otherwise be the pent and dangerous forces that
were in the course of a constant accumulation beneath.

The party had been about an hour on the island, and
was about to quit it, when a most startling discovery was
made. Bob saw a canoe drawn close in among the rocks
to leeward, and, on a further examination, a man was seen
near it. At first, this was taken as an indication of hostilities,
but, on getting a second look, our mariners were
satisfied that nothing of that sort was to be seriously apprehended.
It was determined to go nearer to the stranger,
at once, and learn the whole truth.

A cry from Peters, followed by his immediately springing
forward to meet a second person, who had left the
canoe, and who was bounding like a young antelope to
meet him, rendered everything clear sooner even than had
been anticipated. All supposed that this eager visiter was
a woman, and no one doubted that it was Peggy, the poor
fellow's Indian wife. Peggy it proved to be; and after the
weeping, and laughing, and caressing of the meeting were
a little abated, the following explanation was made by
Peters, who spoke the language of his wife with a good
leal of facility, and who acted as interpreter.

According to the accounts now given by Peggy, the

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warfare between Ooroony and Waally had been kept up
with renewed vigour, subsequently to the escape of Jones
and her own husband. Fortune had proved fickle, as so
often happens, and Waally got to be in the ascendant. His
enemy was reduced to great straits, and had been compelled
to confine himself to one of the smallest islands of
the group, where he was barely able to maintain his party,
by means of the most vigilant watchfulness. This left
Waally at liberty to pursue his intention of following the
party of whites, which was known to have gone to the southward,
with so much valuable property, as well as to extend
his conquests, by taking possession of the mountain visited
by him the year previously. A grand expedition was accordingly
planned, and a hundred canoes had actually
sailed from the group, with more than a thousand warriors
on board, bent on achieving a great exploit. In this expedition,
Unus, the brother of Peggy, had been compelled to
join, being a warrior of some note, and the sister had come
along, in common with some fifty other women; the rank
of Unus and Peggy not being sufficient to attract attention
to their proceedings. Waally had postponed this, which he
intended for the great enterprise of a very turbulent life, to
the most favourable season of the year. There was a
period of a few weeks every summer, when the trades
blew much less violently than was usually the case, and
when, indeed, it was no unusual thing to have shifts of
wind, as well as light breezes. All this the Indians perfectly
well understood, for they were bold navigators, when
the sizes and qualities of their vessels were considered.
As it appeared, the voyage from the group to Rancocus
Island, a distance of fully a hundred leagues, was effected
without any accident, and the whole of that formidable
force was safely landed at the very spot where Betts had
encamped on his arrival out with the colonists. Nearly a
month had been passed in exploring the mountain, the first
considerable eminence most of the Indians had ever beheld;
and in making their preparations for further proceedings.
During that time, hundreds had seen Vulcan's Peak, as
well as the smoke of the volcano, though the reef, with all
its islands, lay too low to be discerned from such a distance.
The Peak was now the great object to be attained,

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for there it was universally believed that Betto (meaning
Betts) and his companions had concealed themselves and
their much-coveted treasures. Rancocus Island was well
enough, and Waally made all his plans for colonizing it at
once, but the other, and distant mountain, no doubt was
the most desirable territory to possess, or white men would
not have brought their women so far in order to occupy it.

As a matter of course, Unus and Peggy learned the
nature of the intended proceedings. The last might have
been content to wait for the slower movements of the expedition,
had she not ascertained that threats of severely
punishing the two deserters, one of whom was her own
husband, had been heard to fall from the lips of the dread
Waally himself. No sooner, therefore, did this faithful Indian
girl become mistress of the intended plan, than she
gave her brother no peace until he consented to put off
into the ocean with her, in a canoe she had brought from
home, and which was her own property. Had not Unus
been disaffected to his new chief, this might not so easily
have been done, but the young Indian was deadly hostile
to Waally, and was a secret friend of Ooroony; a state
of feeling which disposed him to desert the former, at the
first good opportunity.

The two adventurers put off from Rancocus Island just
at dark, and paddled in the direction that they believed
would carry them to the Peak. It will be remembered
that the last could not be seen from the ocean, until about
half the passage between the islands was made, though it
was plainly apparent from the heights of Rancocus, as already
mentioned. Next morning, when day returned, the
smoke of the volcano was in sight, but no Peak. There
is little question that the canoe had been set too much to
the southward, and was diagonally receding from its desired
point of debarkation, instead of approaching it. Towards
the smoke, Unus and his sister continued to paddle,
and, after thirty-six hours of nearly unremitted labour, they
succeeded in landing at the volcano, ignorant of its nature,
awe-struck and trembling, but compelled to seek a
refuge there, as the land-bird rests its tired wing on the
ship's spars, when driven from the coast by the unexpected
gale. When discovered, Peggy and her brother were

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about to take a fresh start from their resting-place, the
Peak being visible from the volcano.

Mark questioned these two friends concerning the contemplated
movement of Waally, with great minuteness,
Unsus was intelligent for a savage, and appeared to understand
himself perfectly. He was of opinion that his countrymen
would endeavour to cross, the first calm day, or the
first day when the breeze should be light; and that was just
the time when our colonists did not desire to meet the
savages out at sea. He described the party as formidable
by numbers and resolution, though possessing few arms
besides those of savages. There were half a dozen old
muskets in the canoes, with a small supply of ammunition;
but, since the desertion of Jones and Peters, no one remained
who knew how to turn these weapons to much
account. Nevertheless, the natives were so numerous,
possessed so many weapons that were formidable in their
own modes of fighting, and were so bent on success, that
Unus did not hesitate to give it as his opinion, the colonists
would act wisely in standing off for some other island,
if they knew where another lay, even at the cost of
abandoning most of their effects.

But, our governor had no idea of following any such
advice. He was fully aware of the strength of his position
on the Peak, and felt no disposition to abandon it. His
great apprehension was for the Reef, where his territories
were much more assailable. It was not easy to see how
the crater, and ship, and the schooner on the stocks, and
all the other property that, in the shape of hogs, poultry,
&c., was scattered far and wide in that group, could be
protected against a hundred canoes, by any force at his
command. Even with the addition of Unus, who took
service at once, with all his heart, among his new friends,
Mark could muster but eight men; viz., himself, Heaton,
Betts, Bigelow, Socrates, Peters, Jones and Unus. To
these might possibly be added two or three of the women,
who might be serviceable in carrying ammunition, and as
sentinels, while the remainder would be required to look
after the children, to care for the stock, &c. All these
facts passed through Mark's mind, as Peters translated the
communication of Unus, sentence by sentence.

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It was indispensable to come to some speedy decision.
Peters was now happy and contented with his nice little
Peggy, and there was no longer any necessity for pursuing
the voyage on his account. As for the project of placing
the hogs on Rancocus, this was certainly not the time to do
it, even if it were now to be done at all; we say `now,'
since the visits of the savages would make any species of
property on that island, from this time henceforth, very insecure.
It was therefore determined to abandon the voyage,
and to shape their course back to the Peak, with as little
delay as possible. As there were indications of shell-fish,
sea-weed, &c., being thrown ashore at the Volcano, two
of the hogs were put ashore there to seek their fortunes.
According to the new plan, the Neshamony made sail on
her return passage, about an hour before the sun set. As
was usual in that strait, the trades blew pretty fresh, and
the boat, although it had the canoe of Unus in tow, came
under the frowning cliffs some time before the day reappeared.
By the time the sun rose, the Neshamony was off
the cove, into which she hastened with the least possible
delay. It was the governor's apprehension that his sails
might be seen from the canoes of Waally, long before the
canoes could be seen from his boat, and he was glad to get
within the cover of his little haven. Once there, the different
crafts were quite concealed from the view of persons
outside, and it now remained to be proved whether
their cover was not so complete as effectually to baffle a
hostile attempt to find it.

The quick and unexpected return of the Neshamony
produced a great deal of surprise on the Plain. She had
not been seen to enter the cove, and the first intimation
any one in the settlement had of such an occurrence, was
the appearance of Mark before the door of the dwelling.
Bigelow was immediately sent to the Peak with a glass, to
look out for canoes, while Heaton was called in from the
woods by means of a conch. In twenty minutes the council
was regulary in session, while the men began to collect
and to look to their arms. Peters and Jones were ordered
to go down to the magazine, procure cartridges, and then
proceed to the batteries and load the carronades. In a

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word, orders were given to make all the arrangements necessary
for the occasion.

It was not long ere a report came down from Bigelow.
It was brought by his Spanish wife, who had accompanied
her husband to the Peak, and who came running in, half
breathless, to say that the ocean was covered with canoes
and catamarans; a fleet of which was paddling directly for
the island, being already within three leagues of it.
Although this intelligence was expected, it certainly caused
long faces and a deep gloom to pervade that little community.
Mark's fears were always for the Reef, where
there happened to be no one just at that moment but the
black women, who were altogether insufficient to defend
it, under the most favourable circumstances, but who were
now without a head. There was the hope, however, of the
Indians not seeing those low islands, which they certainly
could not do as long as they remained in their canoes. On
the other hand, there was the danger that some one might
cross from the Reef in one of the boats, a thing that was
done as often as once a week, in which case a chase might
ensue, and the canoes be led directly towards the spot that
it was so desirable to conceal. Juno could sail a boat as
well as any man among them, and, as is usually the case,
that which she knew she could do so well, she was fond of
doing; and she had not now been across for nearly a week.
The cow kept at the crater gave a large mess of milk, and
the butter produced by her means was delicious when eaten
fresh, but did not keep quite as well in so warm a climate
as it might have done in one that was colder, and Dido was
ever anxious to send it to Miss Bridget, as she still called
her mistress, by every available opportunity. The boat used
by the negresses on such occasions, was the Dido, a perfectly
safe craft in moderate weather, but she was just the dullest
sailer of all those owned by the colony. This created
the additional danger of a capture, in the event of a chase.
Taking all things into consideration therefore, Mark adjourned
the council to the Peak, a feverish desire to look
out upon the sea, causing him to be too uneasy where he
was, to remain there in consultation with any comfort to
himself. To the Peak, then, everybody repaired, with the
exception of Bigelow, Peters, and Jones, who were now

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regularly stationed at the carronades to watch the entrance
of the cove. In saying everybody, we include not only
all the women, but even their children.

So long as the colonists remained on the plain, there was
not the smallest danger of any one of them being seen from
the surrounding ocean. This the woods, and their great
elevation, prevented. Nor was there much danger of the
party in the batteries being seen, though so much lower,
and necessarily on the side of the cliff, since a strict order
had been given to keep out of sight, among the trees, where
they could see everything that was going on, without being
seen themselves. But on the naked Peak it was different.
High as it was, a man might be seen from the ocean, if
moving about, and the observer was tolerably near by.
Bob had seen Mark, when his attention was drawn to the
spot by the report of the latter's fowling-piece; and the
governor had often seen Bridget, on the look-out for him,
as he left the island, though her fluttering dress probably
made her a more conspicuous object than most persons
would have been. From all this, then, the importance of
directing the movements of the party that followed him
became apparent to Mark, who took his measures accordingly.

By the time the governor reached the Peak, having
ascended it on its eastern side, so as to keep his person
concealed, the hostile fleet was plainly to be seen with the
naked eye. It came on in a tolerably accurate line, or
lines, abreast; being three deep, one distant from the other
about a cable's length. It steered directly for the centre
of the island, whereas the cove was much nearer to its
northern than to its southern end; and the course showed
that the canoes were coming on at random, having nothing
in view but the island.

But Mark's eyes were turned with the greatest interest
to the northward, or in the direction of the Reef. As they
came up the ascent, Bridget had communicated to him the
fact that she expected Juno over that day, and that it was
understood she would come quite alone. Bridget was
much opposed to the girl's taking this risk; but Juno had
now done it so often successfully, that nothing short of a
positive command to the contrary would be likely to stop

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her. This command, most unfortunately, as Mark now felt,
had not been given; and great was his concern when Betts
declared that he saw a white speck to the northward, which
looked like a sail. The glass was soon levelled in that
direction, and no doubt any longer remained on the subject.
It was the Dido, steering across from the Reef, distant
then about ten miles; and she might be expected to
arrive in about two hours! In other words, judging by the
progress of the canoes, there might be a difference of
merely half an hour or so between the time of the arrival
of the boat and that of the canoes.

This was a very serious matter; and never before had the
council a question before it which gave its members so much
concern, or which so urgently called for action, as this of
the course that was now to be taken to avert a danger so
imminent. Not only was Juno's safety involved; but the
discovery of the cove and the reef, one or both, was very
likely to be involved in the issue, and the existence of the
whole colony placed in extreme jeopardy. As the canoes
were still more than a league from the island, Bob thought
there was time to go out with the Bridget, and meet the
Dido, when both boats could ply to windward until it was
dark; after which, they might go into the reef, or come
into the cove, as circumstances permitted. The governor
was about to acquiesce in this suggestion, little as he liked
it, when a new proposition was made, that at first seemed
so strange that no one believed it could be put in execution,
but to which all assented in the end.

Among the party on the Peak were Unus and Peggy.
The latter understood a good deal of English, and that
which she did not comprehend, in the course of the discussions
on this interesting occasion, Bob, who had picked
up something of the language of her group, explained to
her, as well as he could. After a time, the girl ran down
to the battery and brought up her husband, through whom
the proposal was made that, at first, excited so much wonder.
Peggy had told Unus what was going on, and had
pointed out to him the boat of Juno, now sensibly drawing
nearer to the island, and Unus volunteered to swim out
and meet the girl, so as to give her timely warning, as
well as instructions how to proceed!

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Although Mark, and Heaton, and Bridget, and all present
indeed, were fully aware that the natives of the South
Seas could, and often did pass hours in the water, this proposal
struck them all, at first, as so wild, that no one believed
it could be accepted. Reflection, however, did its
usual office, and wrought a change in these opinions. Peters
assured the governor that he had often known Unus to
swim from island to island in the group, and that on the
score of danger to him, there was not the least necessity
of feeling any uneasiness. He did not question the Indian's
power to swim the entire distance to the Reef,
should it be necessary.

Another difficulty arose, however, when the first was
overcome. Unus could speak no English, and how was he
to communicate with Juno, even after he had entered her
boat? The girl, moreover, was both resolute and strong,
as her present expedition sufficiently proved, and would be
very apt to knock a nearly naked savage on the head, when
she saw him attempting to enter her boat. From this
last opinion, however, Bridget dissented. Juno was kind-hearted,
and would be more disposed, she thought, to pick
up a man found in the water at sea, than to injure him.
But Juno could read writing. Bridget herself had taught
her slaves to read and write, and Juno in particular was a
sort of `expert,' in her way. She wrote and read half the
nigger-letters of Bristol, previously to quitting America.
She would now write a short note, which would put the
girl on her guard, and give her confidence in Unus. Juno
knew the whole history of Peters and Peggy, having taken
great interest in the fate of the latter. To own the truth,
the girl had manifested a very creditable degree of principle
on the subject, for Jones had tried to persuade his
friend to take Juno, a nice, tidy, light-coloured black, to
wife, and to forget Peggy, when Juno repelled the attempt
with spirit and principle. It is due to Peters, moreover,
to add that he was always true to his island bride. But the
occurrence had made Juno acquainted with the whole history
of Peggy; and Bridget, in the few lines she now wrote
to the girl, took care to tell her that the Indian was the
brother of Peggy. In that capacity, he would be almost
certain of a friendly reception. The rest of the note was

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merely an outline of their situation, with an injunction to
let Unis direct the movements.

No sooner was this important note written, than Unus
hastened down to the cove. He was accompanied by
Mark, Peters and Peggy; the former to give his instructions,
and the two latter to act as interpreters. Nor was
the sister without feeling for the brother on the occasion.
She certainly did not regard his enterprise as it would have
been looked upon by a civilized woman, but she manifested
a proper degree of interest in its success. Her parting
words to her brother, were advice to keep well to windward,
in order that, as he got near the boat, he might float
down upon it with the greater facility, aided by the waves.

The young Indian was soon ready. The note was secured
in his hair, and moving gently in the water, he swam
out of the cove with the ease, if not with the rapidity of a
fish. Peggy clapped her hands and laughed, and otherwise
manifested a sort of childish delight, as if pleased
that one of her race should so early make himself useful
to the countrymen of her husband. She and Peters repaired
to the battery, which was the proper station of the
man, while Mark went nimbly up the Stairs, on his way to
the Peak. And here we might put in a passing word on
the subject of these ascents and descents. The governor
had now been accustomed to them more than a twelvemonth,
and he found that the effect they produced on the muscles
of his lower limbs was absolutely surprising. He could
now ascend the Stairs in half the time he had taken on
his first trials, and he could carry burthens up and down
them, that at first he would not have dreamed of attempting
even to take on his shoulders. The same was true
with all the colonists, male and female, who began to run
about the cliffs like so many goats—chamois would be more
poetical — and who made as light of the Stairs as the governor
himself.

When Mark reached the Peak again, he found matters
drawing near to a crisis. The canoes were within a league
of the island, coming on steadily in line, and paddling with
measured sweeps of their paddles. As yet, the sail of
Juno's boat had escaped them. This was doubtless owing
to their lowness in the water, and the distance that still

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separated them. The Dido was about five miles from the
northern end of the island, while the fleet was some five
more to the southward of it. This placed the two almost
ten miles apart; though each seemed so near, seen from
the elevation of the Peak, that one might have fancied
that he could throw a shot into either.

Unus was the great point of interest for the moment.
He was just coming out clear of the island, and might be
seen with the naked eye, in that pure atmosphere, a dark
speck floating on the undulating surface of the ocean. By
the aid of the glass, there was no difficulty in watching his
smallest movement. With a steady and sinewy stroke of
his arms, the young savage pursued his way, keeping to
windward, as instructed by his sister, and making a progress
in the midst of those rolling billows that was really
wonderful. The wind was not very fresh, nor were the
seas high; but the restless ocean, even in its slumbers,
exhibits the repose of a giant, whose gentlest heavings are
formidable and to be looked to. In one particular, our
colonists were favoured. Owing to some accidental circumstances
of position, a current set round the northern
end of the island, and diffused itself on its western side
by expanding towards the south. This carried the canoes
from the boat and the cove, and insomuch increased Juno's
chance of escape.

The meeting between Unus and the boat took place
when the latter was within a league of the land. As the
sailing directions were for every craft to fall in with the
island rather to windward of the Peak, on account of the
very current just mentioned, it was questionable with Mark
and Betts whether any in the canoes could now perceive
the boat, on account of the intervening heights. It was
pretty certain no one, as yet, had made this important discovery,
for the impetuosity of savages would instantly
have let the fact be known through their shouts and their
eagerness to chase. On the contrary, all remained tranquil
in the fleet, which continued to approach the land
with a steady but regulated movement, that looked as if a
secret awe pervaded the savages as they drew nearer and
nearer to that unknown and mysterious world. To them
the approaching revelations were doubtless of vast import;

[figure description] Page 017.[end figure description]

and the stoutest heart among them must have entertained
some such sensations as were impressed on the spirits of
Columbus and his companions, when they drew near to
the shores of Guanahani.

In the mean time, Juno came confidingly on, shaping
her course rather more to windward than usual even, on
account of the lightness of the breeze. This effectually
prevented her seeing or being seen from the canoes; the
parties diagonally drawing nearer, in utter ignorance of
each other's existence. As for Unus, he manœuvred quite
skilfully. After getting a couple of miles off the land, he
swam directly to windward; and it was well he did, the
course of the boat barely permitting his getting well on her
weather-bow, when it was time to think of boarding.

Unus displayed great judgment in this critical part of
the affair. So accurately did he measure distances, that
he got alongside of the Dido, with his hand on her weather
gunwale, without Juno's having the least idea that he was
anywhere near her. At one effort he was in the boat; and
while the girl was still uttering her scream of alarm, he
stood holding out the note, pronouncing the word “Missus”
as well as he could. The girl had acquired too much
knowledge of the habits of the South Sea islanders, while
passing through and sojourning in the different groups she
had visited, to be overwhelmed with the occurrence. What
is more, she recognised the young Indian at a glance;
some passages of gallantry having actually taken place between
them during the two months Heaton and his party
remained among Ooroony's people. To be frank with the
reader, the first impression of Juno was, that the note thus
tendered to her was a love-letter, though its contents instantly
undeceived her. The exclamation and changed
manner of the girl told Unus that all was right; and he
went quietly to work to take in the sail, as the most effectual
method of concealing the presence of the boat from the
thousand hostile and searching eyes in the canoes. The
moment Mark saw the canvas come in, he cried out `all
is well,' and descended swiftly from the Peak, to hasten
to a point where he could give the necessary attentions to
the movements of Waally and his fleet.

CHAPTER II.

“Ho! strike the flag-staff deep, Sir Knight,—
Ho! scatter flowers, fair maids,—
Ho! gunners fire a loud salute—
Ho! gallants, draw your blades;—”
Macaulay.

[figure description] Page 018.[end figure description]

So much time had passed in the execution of the plan
of Unus, that the canoes were close under the cliffs, when
the governor and his party reached the wood that fringed
their summits, directly over the northern end of their line.
Even this extremity of their formation was a mile or two
to leeward of the cove, and all the craft, catamarans included,
were drifting still further south, under the influence
of the current. So long as this state of things continued,
there was nothing for the colonists to apprehend, since they
knew landing at any other spot than the cove was out of
the question. The strictest orders had been given for
every one to keep concealed, a task that was by no means
difficult, the whole plain being environed with woods, and
its elevation more than a thousand feet above the sea. In
short, nothing but a wanton exposure of the person, could
render it possible for one on the water to get a glimpse of
another on the heights above him.

The fleet of Waally presented an imposing sight. Not
only were his canoes large, and well filled with men, but
they were garnished with the usual embellishments of
savage magnificence. Feathers and flags, and symbols of
war and power, were waving and floating over the prows
of most of them, while the warriors they contained were
gay in their trappings. It was apparent, however, to the
members of the council, who watched every movement of
the fleet with the utmost vigilance, that their foes were
oppressed with doubts concerning the character of the
place they had ventured so far to visit. The smoke of the
Volcano was visible to them, beyond a doubt, and here

[figure description] Page 019.[end figure description]

was a wall of rock interposed between them and the accomplishment
of their desire to land. In this last respect,
Rancocus Island offered a shore very different from that
of Vulcan's Peak. The first, in addition to the long, low
point so often mentioned, had everywhere a beach of some
sort or other; while, on the last, the waves of the Pacific
rose and fell as against a precipice, marking their power
merely by a slight discoloration of the iron-bound coast.
Those superstitious and ignorant beings naturally would
connect all these unusual circumstances with some supernatural
agencies; and Heaton early gave it as his opinion
that Waally, of whom he had some personal knowledge,
was hesitating, and doubtful of the course he ought to
pursue, on account of this feeling of superstition. When
this opinion was expressed, the governor suggested the expediency
of firing one of the carronades, under the supposition
that the roar of the gun, and most especially the
echo, of which there was one in particular that was truly
terrific, might have the effect to frighten away the whole
party. Heaton was in doubt about the result, for Waally
and his people knew something of artillery, though of
echoes they could not know anything at all. Nothing like
an echo, or indeed a hill, was to be found in the low
coral islands of their group, and the physical agents of
producing such sounds were absolutely wanting among
them. It might be that something like an echo had been
heard at Rancocus Island, but it must have been of a very
different calibre from that which Heaton and Mark were
in the habit of making for the amusement of the females,
by firing their fowling-pieces down the Stairs. As yet
neither of the guns had been fired from the proper point,
which was the outer battery, or that on the shelf of rock,
though a very formidable roaring had been made by the
report of the gun formerly fired, as an experiment to ascertain
how far it would command the entrance of the cove.
After a good deal of discussion, it was decided to try the
experiment, and Betts, who knew all about the means necessary
to produce the greatest reverberations, was despatched
to the shelf-battery with instructions to scale its
gun, by pointing it along the cliff and making all the
uproar he could.

[figure description] Page 020.[end figure description]

This plan was carried out just as Waally had assembled
his chiefs around his own canoe, whither he had called
them by an order, to consult on the manner in which the
entire coast of the island ought to be examined, that a
landing might be effected. The report of the gun came
quite unexpectedly to all parties; the echo, which rolled
along the cliffs for miles, being absolutely terrific! Owing
to the woods and intervening rocks, the natives could see
no smoke, which added to their surprise, and was doubtless
one reason they did not, at first, comprehend the long,
cracking, thundering sounds that, as it might be, rolled
out towards them from the island. A cry arose that the
strange rocks were speaking, and that the Gods of the
place were angry. This was followed by a general and
confused flight; — the canoes, paddling away as if their
people were apprehensive of being buried beneath the
tumbling rocks. For half an hour nothing was seen but
frantic efforts to escape, nothing heard but the dip of the
paddle and the wash of its rise.

Thus far the plan of the governor had succeeded even
beyond his expectations. Could he get rid of these savages
without bloodshed, it would afford him sincere delight, it
being repugnant to all his feelings to sweep away rows of
such ignorant men before the murderous fire of his cannon.
While he and Heaton were congratulating each other on
the encouraging appearances, a messenger came down from
the Peak, where Bridget remained on the look-out, to report
that the boat had drifted in, and was getting close
under the cliffs, on the northern end of the island, which
was in fact coming close under the Peak itself. A signal
to push for the cove had been named to Juno, and Bridget
desired to know whether it ought to be made, else the boat
would shortly be too near in, to see it. The governor
thought the moment favourable, for the canoes were still
paddling in a body away from the spot whence the roar
had proceeded, and their course carried them to the southward
and westward, while Unus would approach from the
northward and eastward. Word was sent, accordingly, to
make the signal.

Bridget no sooner received this order than she showed
the flag, which was almost immediately answered by

[figure description] Page 021.[end figure description]

setting the boat's sail. Unus now evidently took the direction
of matters on board the Dido. It is probable he appreciated
the effect of the gun and its echo, the first of
which he fully comprehended, though the last was as great
and as awful a mystery to him, as to any one of his countrymen.
Nevertheless, he imputed the strange and fearful
roar of the cliffs to some control of the whites over the
power of the hills, and regarded it as a friendly roar, even
while he trembled. Not so would it be with his countrymen,
did he well know; they would retire before it; and
the signal being given at that instant, the young Indian
had no hesitation about the course he ought to take.

Unus understood sailing a boat perfectly well. On setting
his sail, he stood on in the Dido until he was obliged
to bear up on account of the cliffs. This brought him so
close to the rocks as greatly to diminish the chances of
being seen. There both wind and current aided his progress;
the first drawing round the end of the island, the
coast of which it followed in a sort of eddy, for some time,
and the latter setting down towards the cove, which was
less than two miles from the north bluff. In twenty minutes
after he had made sail, Unus was entering the secret
little harbour, Waally and his fleet being quite out of sight
from one as low as the surface of the ocean, still paddling
away to the south-west, as hard as they could.

Great was the exultation of the colonists, at this escape
of Juno's. It even surpassed their happiness at the retreat
of their invaders. If the boat were actually unseen, the
governor believed the impression was sufficient to keep the
savages aloof for a long time, if not for ever; since they
would not fail to ascribe the roar, and the smoke of the
volcano, and all the mysteries of the place, to supernatural
agencies. If the sail had been seen, however, it was possible
that, on reflection, their courage might revive, and
more would be seen of them. Unus was extolled by everybody,
and seemed perfectly happy. Peggy communicated
his thoughts, which were every way in favour of his new
friends. Waally he detested. He denounced him as a
ruthless tyrant, and declared he would prefer death to submission
to his exactions. Juno highly approved of all his
sentiments, and was soon known as a sworn friend of

[figure description] Page 022.[end figure description]

Peggy's. This hatred of tyranny is innate in man, but it
is necessary to distinguish between real oppression and
those restraints which are wholesome, if not indispensable
to human happiness. As for the canoes, they were soon
out of sight in the south-western board, running off, under
their sails, before the wind. Waally, himself, was too
strong-minded and resolute, to be as much overcome by
the echo, as his companions; but, so profound and general
was the awe excited, that he did not think it advisable to
persevere in his projects, at a moment so discouraging.
Acquiescing in the wishes of all around him, the expedition
drew off from the island, making the best of its way
back to the place from which it had last sailed. All these
circumstances became known to the colonists, in the end,
as well as the reasoning and the more minute incidents
that influenced the future movements. For the time being,
however, Woolston and his friends were left to their
own conjectures on the subject; which, however, were not
greatly out of the way. It was an hour after Juno and
Unus were safe up on the plain, before the look-outs at the
Peak finally lost sight of the fleet, which, when last seen,
was steering a course that would carry it between the
volcano and Rancocus Island, and might involve it in serious
difficulties in the succeeding night. There was no
land in sight from the highest points on Rancocus Island,
nor any indications of land, in a south-westerly direction;
and, did the canoes run past the latter, the imminent danger
of a general catastrophe would be the consequence.
Once at sea, under an uncertainty as to the course to be
steered, the situation of those belonging to the expedition
would be painful, indeed, nor could the results be foreseen.
Waaly, nevertheless, escaped the danger. Edging off to
keep aloof from the mysterious smoke, which troubled his
followers almost as much as the mysterious echoes, the
party, most fortunately for themselves, got a distant view
of the mountains for which they were running, and altered
their course in sufficient time to reach their place of destination,
by the return of light the succeeding morning.

All thoughts of the expedition to Rancocus Island were
temporarily abandoned by the governor and his council.
Mark was greatly disappointed, nor did his regrets cease

[figure description] Page 023.[end figure description]

with disappointment only. Should Waally leave a portion
of his people on that island, a collision must occur, sooner
or later; there being a moral impossibility of the two colonies
continuing friends while so near each other. The
nature of an echo would be ascertained, before many
months, among the hills of Rancocus Island, and when that
came to be understood, there was an end of the sacred
character that the recent events had conferred on the
Peak. Any straggling vagabond, or runaway from a ship,
might purchase a present importance by explaining things,
and induce the savages to renew their efforts. In a word,
there was the moral certainty that hostilities must be renewed
ere many months, did Waally remain so near them,
and the question now seriously arose, whether it were better
to press the advantage already obtained, and drive him
back to his group, or to remain veiled behind the sort of
mystery that at present enshrouded them. These points
were gravely debated, and became subjects of as great
interest among the colonists, as ever banks, or abolitionism,
or antimasonry, or free-trade, or any other of the
crotchets of the day, could possibly be in America. Many
were the councils that were convened to settle this important
point of policy, which, after all, like most other matters
of moment, was decided more by the force of circumstances,
than by any of the deductions of human reason.
The weakness of the colony and the dangers to its existence,
disposed of the question of an aggressive war.
Waally was too strong to be assailed by a dozen enemies,
and all the suggestions of prudence were in favour of remaining
quiet, until the Friend Abraham White could, at
least, be made available in the contest. Supported by that
vessel, indeed, matters would be changed; and Mark
thought it would be in his power to drive in Waally, and
even to depose him and place Ooroony at the head of the
natives once more. To finish and launch the schooner,
therefore, was now the first great object, and, after a week
of indecision and consultations, it was determined to set
about that duty with vigour.

It will be easily seen, that the getting of the Abraham
into the water was an affair of a good deal of delicacy,
under the circumstances. The strait between the Peak

[figure description] Page 024.[end figure description]

and Cape South was thirty miles wide, and it was twenty
more to the crater. Thus the party at work on the vessel
would be fully fifty miles from the main abodes of the
colony, and thrown quite out of the affair should another
invasion be attempted. As for bringing the Neshamony,
the Did, the Bridget, and the lighter, into the combat,
everybody was of opinion it would be risking too much.
It is true, one of the swivels was mounted on the former,
and might be of service, but the natives had got to be too
familiar with fire-arms to render it prudent to rely on
the potency of a single swivel, in a conflict against a
force so numerous, and one led by a spirit as determined
as that of Waally's was known to be. All idea of fighting
at sea, therefore, until the schooner was launched, was out
of the question, and every energy was turned to effect the
latter most important object. A separation of the forces of
the colony was inevitable, in the meanwhile; and reliance
must be placed on the protection of Providence, for keeping
the enemy aloof until the vessel was ready for active
service.

The labour requiring as much physical force as could
be mustered, the arrangement was settled in council and
approved by the governor, on the following plan, viz.:—
Mark was to proceed to the Reef with all the men that
could be spared, and a portion of the females. It was not
deemed safe, however, to leave the Peak with less than
three defenders, Heaton, Peters and Unus being chosen
for that important station; the former commanding, of
course. Mark, Betts, Bigelow, Socrates, and Jones,
formed the party for the Reef, to which were attached
Bridget, Martha, Teresa, and the blacks. Bigelow went
across, indeed, a day or two before the main party sailed,
in order to look after Dido, and to get his work forward
as fast as possible. When all was ready, and that was
when ten days had gone by after the retreat of Waally,
without bringing any further tidings from him, the governor
sailed in the Neshamony, having the Bridget and the
tighter in company, leaving the Dido for the convenience
of Heaton and his set. Signals were agreed on, though
the distance was so great as to render them of little use,
unless a boat were mid-channel. A very simple and

[figure description] Page 025.[end figure description]

ingenious expedient, nevertheless, was suggested by Mark,
in connection with this matter. A single tree grew so near
the Peak as to be a conspicuous object from the ocean; it
was not large, though it could be seen at a great distance,
more particularly in the direction of the Reef. The governor
intimated an intention to send a boat daily far
enough out into the strait to ascertain whether this tree
were, or were not standing; and Heaton was instructed to
have it felled as soon as he had thoroughly ascertained
that Waally was abroad again with hostile intentions.
Other signals were also agreed on, in order to regulate
the movements of the boats, in the event of their being
called back to the Peak to repel an invasion.

With the foregoing arrangements completed and thoroughly
understood, the governor set sail for the Reef, accompanied
by his little squadron. It was an exquisitely
beautiful day, one in which all the witchery of the climate
developed itself, soothing the nerves and animating the
spirits. Bridget had lost most of her apprehensions of the
natives, and could laugh with her husband and play with
her child almost as freely as before the late events. Everybody,
indeed, was in high spirits, the launching of the
schooner being regarded as a thing that would give them
complete command of the adjacent seas.

The passage was short, a fresh breeze blowing, and four
hours after quitting the cliffs, the Neshamony was under
the lee of Cape South, and heading for the principal inlet.
As the craft glided along, in perfectly smooth water now,
Mark noted the changes that time was making on those
rocks, which had so lately emerged from the depths of the
ocean. The prairie, in particular, was every way worthy
of his attention. A mass of sea-weed, which rested on a
sort of stratum of mud immediately after the eruption, had
now been the favourite pasturage of the hogs for more than
a twelvemonth. These hogs at the present time exceeded
fifty full-grown animals, and there were twice that number
of grunters at their heels. Then the work they had done
on the Prairie was incredible. Not less than hundreds of
acres had they rooted over, mixing the sea-weed with the
mud, and fast converting the whole into soil. The rains
had washed away the salt, or converted it into manure, as

[figure description] Page 026.[end figure description]

well as contributing to the more rapid decay of the vegetable
substances. In that climate the changes are very
rapid, and Mark saw that another year or two would convert
the whole of that vast range, which had been formerly
computed at a surface of a thousand acres, into very respectable
pastures, if not into meadows. Of meadows,
however, there was very little necessity in that latitude;
the eternal summer that reigned furnishing pasturage the
year round. The necessary grasses might be wanting to
seed down so large a surface, but those which Socrates
had put in were well-rooted, and it was pretty certain they
would, sooner or later, spread themselves over the whole
field. In defiance of the hogs, and their increasing inroads,
large patches were already green and flourishing.
What is more, young trees were beginning to show themselves
along the margin of the channels. Heaton had
brought over from Betto's group several large panniers
made of green willows, and these Socrates had cut into
strips, and thrust into the mud. Almost without an exception
they had struck out roots, and never ceasing, day or
night, to grow, they were already mostly of the height of a
man. Four or five years would convert them into so many
beautiful, if not very useful trees.

Nor was this all. Heaton, under the influence of his
habits, had studied the natures of the different trees he had
met with on the other islands. The cocoa-nut, in particular,
abounded in both groups, and finding it was a tree that
much affected low land and salt water, he had taken care
to set out various samples of his roots and fruits, on certain
detached islets near this channel, where the soil and
situation induced him to believe they would flourish. Seasand
he was of opinion was the most favourable for the
growth of this tree, and he had chosen the sites of his
plantations with a view to those advantages. On the Peak
cocoa-nuts were to be found, but they were neither very
fine, nor in very large quantities. So long as Mark had
that island to himself, the present supply would more than
equal the demand, but with the increase of the colony a
greater number of the trees would become very desirable.
Five or six years would be needed to produce the fruitbearing
tree, and the governor was pleased to find that the

[figure description] Page 027.[end figure description]

growth of one of those years had been already secured.
In the case of those he had himself planted, in and on the
crater, near three years had contributed to their growth,
and neither the Guano nor Loam Island having been forgotten,
many of them were now thirty feet high. As he
approached the crater, on that occasion, he looked at those
promising fruits of his early and provident care for the
future with great satisfaction, for seldom was the labour
of man better rewarded. Mark well knew the value of
this tree, which was of use in a variety of ways, in addition
to the delicious and healthful fruit it bears; delicious
and healthful when eaten shortly after it is separated from
the tree. The wood of the kernel could be polished, and
converted into bowls, that were ornamental as well as useful.
The husks made a capital cordage, and a very respectable
sail-cloth, being a good substitute for hemp,
though hemp, itself, was a plant that might be grown on
the prairies to an almost illimitable extent. The leaves
were excellent for thatching, as well as for making brooms,
mats, hammocks, baskets and a variety of such articles,
while the trunks could be converted into canoes, gutters,
and timber generally. There was also one other expensive
use of this tree, which the governor had learned from Heaton.
While Bridget was still confined to the ship, after
the birth of her daughter, Mark had brought her a dish
of greens, which she pronounced the most delicious of any
thing in its way she had ever tasted. It was composed of
the young and delicate leaves of the new growth, or of the
summit of the cocoa-nut tree, somewhat resembling the
artichoke in their formation, though still more exquisite in
taste. But the tree from which this treat was obtained
died,—a penalty that must ever be paid to partake of that
dish. As soon as Bridget learned this, she forbade the
cutting of any more for her use, at least. All the boats
got into port in good season, and the Reef once more became
a scene of life and activity. The schooner was soon
completed, and it only remained to put her into the water.
This work was already commenced by Bigelow, and the
governor directed everybody to lend a hand in effecting
so desirable an object. Bigelow had all his materials
ready, and so perseveringly did our colonists work, that

[figure description] Page 028.[end figure description]

the schooner was all ready to be put into the water on the
evening of the second day. The launch was deferred only to
have the benefit of daylight. That afternoon Mark, accompanied
by his wife, had gone in the Bridget, his favourite
boat, to look for the signal tree. He went some distance
into the strait, ere he was near enough to get a sight of
it even with the glass; when he did procure a view, there
it was precisely as he had last seen it. Putting the helm
of the boat up, the instant he was assured of his fact, the
governor wore short round, making the best of his way
back to the crater, again. The distances, it will be remembered,
were considerable, and it required time to
make the passage. The sun was setting as Mark was running
along the channel to the Reef, the young man pointing
out to his charming wife the growth of the trees, the
tints of the evening sky, the drove of hogs, the extent of
his new meadows, and such other objects as would be
likely to interest both, in the midst of such a scene. The
boat rounded a point where a portion of the hogs had been
sleeping, and as it came sweeping up, the animals rose in
a body, snuffed the air, and began scampering off in the
way conformable to their habits, Mark laughing and pointing
with his fingers to draw Bridget's attention to their
antics.

“There are more of the creatures,” said Bridget;
“yonder, on the further side of the prairie—I dare say
the two parties will join each other, and have a famous
scamper, in company.”

“More!” echoed Mark; “that can hardly be, as we
passed some thirty of them several miles to the southward.—
What is it you see, dearest, that you mistake for hogs?”

“Why, yonder—more than a mile from us; on the opposite
side of the prairie and near the water, in the other
channel.”

“The other is not a channel at all; it is a mere bay that
leads to nothing; so none of our boats or people can be
there. The savages, as I am your husband, Bridget!”

Sure enough, the objects which Bridget had mistaken
for mere hogs, were in truth the heads and shoulders of
some twenty Indians who were observing the movements of
the boat from positions taken on the other side of the plain,

[figure description] Page 029.[end figure description]

so as to conceal all but the upper halves of their bodies.
They had two canoes; war canoes, moreover; but these
were the whole party, at that point at least.

This was a most grave discovery. The governor had
hoped the Reef, so accessible on every side by means of
canoes, would, for years at least, continue to be a terra
incognita to the savages. On this ignorance of the natives
would much of its security depend, for the united forces
of the colonists could scarcely suffice to maintain the place
against the power of Waally. The matter as it was, called
for all his energies, and for the most prompt measures.

The first step was to apprise the people at the Reef of
the proximity of these dangerous neighbours. As the boat
was doubtless seen, its sails rising above the land, there
was no motive in changing its course, or for attempting to
conceal it. The crater, ship and schooner on the stocks,
were all in sight of the savages at that moment, though not
less than two leagues distant, where they doubtless appeared
indistinct and confused. The ship might produce an
influence in one or two ways. It might inflame the cupidity
of Waally, under the hope of possessing so much treasure,
and tempt him on to hasten his assault; or it might
intimidate him by its imagined force, vessels rarely visiting
the islands of the Pacific without being prepared to defend
themselves. The savages would not be likely to comprehend
the true condition of the vessel, but would naturally
suppose that she had a full crew, and possessed the usual
means of annoying her enemies. All this occurred to the
governor in the first five minutes after his discovery, while
his boat was gliding onwards towards her haven.

Bridget behaved admirably. She trembled a little at
first, and pressed her child to her bosom with more than
the usual warmth, but her self-command was soon regained,
and from that instant, Mark found in her a quick, ingenious,
and useful assistant and counsellor. Her faculties
and courage seemed to increase with the danger, and so
far from proving an encumbrance, as might naturally
enough have been expected, she was not only out of the
way, as respects impediments, but she soon became of real
use, and directed the movements of the females with almost

[figure description] Page 030.[end figure description]

as much skill and decision as Mark directed those of their
husbands.

The boat did not reach the Reef until dusk, or for an
hour after the savages had been seen. The colonists had
just left their work, and the evening being cool and refreshing
after a warm summer's day, they were taking their
suppers under a tent or awning, at no great distance from
the ship-yard, when the governor joined them. This tent,
or awning, had been erected for such purposes, and had
several advantages to recommend it. It stood quite near
the beach of the spring, and cool fresh water was always
at hand. It had a carpet of velvet-like grass, too, a rare
thing for the Reef, on the outside of the crater. But, there
were cavities on its surface, in which foreign substances
had collected, and this was one of them. Sea-weed, loam,
dead fish, and rain-water had made a thin soil on about an
acre of rocks at this spot, and the rain constantly assisting
vegetation, the grass-seed had taken root there, and this
being its second season, Betts had found the sward already
sufficient for his purposes, and caused an awning to be
spread, converting the grass into a carpet. There might
now have been a dozen similar places on the reef, so many
oases in its desert, where soil had formed and grass was
growing. No one doubted that, in time and with care,
those then living might see most of those naked rocks
clothed with verdure, for the progress of vegetation in such
a climate, favoured by those accidental causes which
seemed to prevent that particular region from ever suffering
by droughts, is almost magical, and might convert a
wilderness into a garden in the course of a very few years.

Mark did not disturb the happy security in which he
found his people by any unnecessary announcement of
danger. On the contrary, he spoke cheerfully, complimented
them on the advanced state of their work, and took
an occasion to get Betts aside, when he first communicated
the all-important discovery he had made. Bob was dumfounded
at first; for, like the governor himself, he had believed
the Reef to be one of the secret spots of the earth,
and had never anticipated an invasion in that quarter.
Recovering himself, however, he was soon in a state of
mind to consult intelligently and freely.

[figure description] Page 031.[end figure description]

“Then we're to expect the reptyles to-night?” said
Betts, as soon as he had regained his voice.

“I think not,” answered Mark. “The canoes I saw
were in the false channel, and cannot possibly reach us
without returning to the western margin of the rocks, and
entering one of the true passages. I rather think this cannot
be done before morning. Daylight, indeed, may be
absolutely necessary to them; and as the night promises to
be dark, it is not easy to see how strangers can find their
way to us, among the maze of passages they must meet.
By land, they cannot get here from any of the islands on
the western side of the group; and even if landed on the
central island, there is only one route, and that a crooked
one, which will bring them here without the assistance of
their canoes. We are reasonably well fortified, Betts,
through natural agencies, on that side; and I do not apprehend
seeing anything more of the fellows until morning.”

“What a misfortin 'tis that they should ever have discovered
the Reef!”

“It certainly is; and it is one, I confess, I had not expected.
But we must take things as they are, Betts, and
do our duty. Providence—that all-seeing Power, which
spared you and me when so many of our shipmates were
called away with short notice — Providence may still be
pleased to look on us with favour.”

“That puts me in mind, Mr. Mark, of telling you something
that I have lately l'arn'd from Jones, who was about
a good deal among the savages, since his friend's marriage
with Peggy, and before he made his escape to join us.
Jones says that, as near as he can find out, about three
years ago, a ship's launch came into Betto's Land, as we
call it—Waally's Country, however, is meant; and that is
a part of the group I never ventured into, seeing that my
partic'lar friend, Ooroony, and Waally, was always at daggers
drawn—but a ship's launch came in there, about three
years since, with seven living men in it. Jones could never
get a sight of any of the men, for Waally is said to have
kept them all hard at work for himself; but he got tolerable
accounts of them, as well as of the boat in which
they arrived.”

“Surely, Bob, you do not suppose that launch to have

[figure description] Page 032.[end figure description]

been ours, and those men to have been a part of our old
crew!” exclaimed Mark, with a tumult of feeling he had
not experienced since he had reason to think that Bridget
was about to be restored to him.

“Indeed, but I do, sir. The savages told Jones that the
boat had a bird painted in its starn-sheets; and that was
the case with our launch, Mr. Mark, which was ornamented
with a spread-eagle in that very spot. Then, one of the
men was said to have a red mark on his face; and you may
remember, sir, that Bill Brown had a nat'ral brand of that
sort. Jones only mentioned the thing this arternoon, as
we was at work together; and I detarmined to let you
know all about it, at the first occasion. Depend on it, Mr.
Woolston, some of our chaps is still living.”

This unexpected intelligence momentarily drove the
recollection of the present danger from the governor's
mind. He sent for Jones, and questioned him closely
touching the particulars of his information; the answers
he received certainly going far towards corroborating
Betts's idea of the character of the unknown men. Jones
was never able even to get on the island where these men
were said to be; but he had received frequent descriptions
of their ages, appearances, numbers, &c. It was also
reported by those who had seen them, that several of the
party had died of hunger before the boat reached the
group; and that only about half of those who had originally
taken to the boat, which belonged to a ship that had
been wrecked, lived to get ashore. The man with a mark
on his face was represented as being very expert with tools,
and was employed by Waally to build him a canoe that
would live out in the gales of the ocean. This agreed perfectly
with the trade and appearance of Brown, who had
been the Rancocus's carpenter, and had the sort of mark
so particularly described.

The time, the boat, the incidents of the wreck, meagre
as the last were, as derived through the information of
Jones, and all the other facts Mark could glean in a close
examination of the man's statements, went to confirm the
impression that a portion of those who had been carried to
leeward in the Rancocus's launch, had escaped with their
lives, and were at that moment prisoners in the power of

[figure description] Page 033.[end figure description]

the very savage chief who now threatened his colony with
destruction.

But the emergency did not admit of any protracted inquiry
into, or any consultation on the means necessary to
relieve their old shipmates from a fate so miserable. Circumstances
required that the governor should now give his
attention to the important concerns immediately before
him.