stood up to look out for the wished-for land; till
at length a light mist which had hung over the water was dissipated by
the increasing heat of the sun, and to my joy I caught sight of the
lofty headland we had hoped to double the day before, rising out of the
blue water much nearer than I had expected to find it. My spirits rose;
and I began to hope that, should Dick recover, my troubles and anxieties
would be at an end. I could not help shouting out "Land! land!" though
I was not aware that I had done so till I heard the sound of my own
voice. It had the effect of arousing Dick, however.

"Land, Mr Rayner!" he exclaimed. "I thought we were about to enter the
harbour to meet Mr Mudge and the rest."

I tried to explain what had happened, but his senses were too confused
to allow him for some time to understand me.

"What! have you been at the helm all night? You must be pretty well
knocked up, sir," he said. "Let me take it while you lie down. You
need rest."

I observed, from the way he spoke, that his senses were still confused;
so I told him that I had already had some sleep, and that I was able to
keep at the helm very well for the present.

I now gave him some cocoa-nut milk and a little fish, which he took very
readily; and after eating some of the solid food he appeared much
better, and was soon able to sit up and talk rationally.

Calculating by the time we had taken to reach the headland, he judged
that we should not get into the harbour at soonest till sunset; and he
advised that we should economise our food, in case we should be kept out
still longer, as would certainly be the case did it again fall calm.

We at length got up with the island. On the western side it presented a
succession of high cliffs, along which we coasted. As the day advanced
the breeze freshened, and we ran briskly through the water. We had gone
half a mile or so along the coast, when I caught sight of a sail ahead.

"Hurrah!" I cried out. "Perhaps that is a ship. Yonder craft may be
able to take us and our companions on board."

"She is only a native canoe," observed Dick; "and it is questionable
whether she has friends or enemies on board. If the latter, and she
catches us, we may have our voyage put a stop to in a way we didn't
bargain for."

The craft at which we were looking was one of the large double canoes of
these seas, with a single triangular sail of white matting, which I, in
the first instance, had