as if I shall not be
very comfortable till I'm standing upon her deck."

"But we've come on a voyage of discovery," said Panton.

"Yes, sir, that's right enough, but we seem to have begun wrong way on.
We want to discover things, and, instead, they keep discovering us.
It's just as if we'd no business here and the whole island was rising up
against us."

"But this is such an opportunity," pleaded Oliver. "We are, as I said,
on the slope of the mountain, pretty well rested, and I think I may say
that we are all eager to go up."

"No, sir, I don't think you may say that," replied the mate, grimly.
"I'm pretty tired, and I've had a very anxious time lately."

"Well, we three are anxious to try the ascent."

"Oh, yes, I'm ready," cried Panton, eagerly.

"And so am I," cried Drew; but there was a want of earnestness in his
words. "Let's start at once."

"Yes, gentlemen, back to the brig, please, and have a good rest. We're
none of us fit to-day."

"But we must ascend this mountain."

"Of course, sir, if it will let us," said the mate; "but let's come
prepared. I'm with you at any time, and I should like to do it, but
what I say is, let's go back to the brig and have a day or two's rest,
and while we're waiting make our plans and get a stock of food ready.
Then we shall want plenty of light, strong line and a bit of rope
ladder, and it would be wise to let the carpenter knock us up a light,
strong set of steps of ten or a dozen foot long, the same as the Alpine
gentlemen use. Then we could start some afternoon."

"At daybreak, some morning," cried Oliver.

"Let me finish, sir," said the mate. "Start some afternoon and carry a
spare sail and a hitcher or two in the boat. Then we could get round
the mist, land, walk as far as we like that evening, and then light up
our fire, and set up a bit of a tent. Next morning, after a good
night's rest, we could start fair, and do some work before the sun gets
hot; for the mountain will be quite warm enough without the sun. There,
gentlemen, what do you say to my plan?"

"Carried unanimously," cried Drew, and Panton and Oliver remained silent
and ready to acquiesce, for the arrangement certainly promised well.

The next minute they were on their way back down to the lower ground,
where before reaching the forest patch below they came upon the remains
of a group of what must have been well-grown trees, which had been so
calcined that though the trunks retained th