re
come with good tidings; I can see it in your face. What is it boy! Out
with it. I have been terribly shaken by this villainous mutiny, but my
nerves are yet strong enough to bear the shock of good news, so out with
it; do not keep us in suspense, dear lad."

It was pitiful to Ned to listen to the yearning tones of anxious
entreaty in which the poor fellow uttered those last words, and to feel
that he had not a single scrap of comfort to offer; but his task was
before him. He had to execute it, and he determined to do it as gently
as possible, and to put matters in the most hopeful light he could on
the spur of the moment.

"Yes," began Ned, "I _have_ come with what I hope will prove to be good
tidings, though, perhaps, they may not strike you as such at the outset;
and I deeply regret to say that they are certainly not such as you seem
to have been looking for. The ship is still in the hands of the
mutineers, notwithstanding all the plotting and scheming of Mr Gaunt,
Doctor Henderson, and myself; Williams and the rest of the people have
been too watchful for us to take them by surprise, and we were not
strong enough to attempt force with them. And now--the passengers, all
but Miss Stanhope, being landed, as I suppose you know--I fear that the
poor _Flying Cloud_ will have to remain in the rascals' hands; at all
events until we get into more frequented waters, when you may depend
upon it I shall make desperate efforts, and leave no feasible plan
untried to secure the capture of the ship. But, in the meantime, I have
been instructed by Williams to inform you that you are to hold
yourselves in readiness to be landed on the island yonder, which you may
see through the starboard window. This, I hope, will be good news to
you both, for you will at least be _free_--free not only from your
present confinement, but also free to act; free to devise and to carry
out means for your escape from the island, and your speedy restoration
to civilisation. I am instructed to say that all your personal effects
will be rendered up to you; and I have orders to get together a few
things to make you comfortable. So now, if you will name what things
you would most desire to have, I will jot down a list of them, and do
all I possibly can to ensure your getting them."

"So--so; that is how the land lies, is it?" remarked the skipper
thoughtfully, when Ned had brought his story to a close. "And, pray,
what are they going to do wit