, he felt no wind, the aspect of the sea beneath him,
and the fact that the _Flying Fish_ was perceptibly drifting to the
southward and westward, told him that a brisk, north-easterly wind was
blowing. At the much lower altitude at which the ship was now floating,
the surrounding islets--there were three of them--showed to the eye at
something very nearly approaching their correct distances apart, and in
the fast-growing light something of their true character also stood
revealed. Thus the solitary observer noted that while two of them, some
six miles apart, were simply extensive reefs of bare coral rock, with a
multitude of narrow, intricate channels of water running hither and
thither through them, the third--some nine or ten miles to the
southward--was an atoll of very similar character to that of the
pearl-island which they had so abruptly left on the preceding day, but
considerably larger, quite an extensive grove of coco-palms growing upon
it. It had all the appearance of being a very suitable spot for the
purpose that he had in his mind; and he therefore retired to the
pilot-house, re-started the engines, and so headed the ship that she
would pass over it. And when, presently, she reached it, he turned her
head-to-wind, so adjusted the speed of her engines that she would just
stem the breeze, and again went out on deck to reconnoitre. He now saw
that the island beneath him was about two miles long by about half a
mile in breadth, well clothed with grass, bushes, and some two or three
hundred coco-palms; and that there was a rivulet of--presumably--fresh
water bubbling up at one point and meandering down to the lagoon, which
was a spacious one of about ten miles long by some seven miles broad,
with a depth of water that appeared ample enough to float anything. The
islet was also uninhabited; for he had a clear view of the whole of it,
and could discover nothing that even remotely resembled a hut; no, not
even with the aid of his binoculars. So, satisfied at length that he
had found the kind of spot that Sir Reginald had in his mind's eye,
Mildmay took the ship over the lagoon, allowed her to settle gently into
the placid water, and let go her anchor. Then, very well content with
himself, he went below, took a bath, and dressed for the day.

He was out on deck again, sauntering fore and aft the deck, and taking
occasional peeps at the island through his binoculars while waiting for
the breakfast-gong to soun