erchance, the
fellow really happened to dimly understand the matter about which they
were talking, but the stolid features revealed nothing; so turning away
again with a quick smile, he said:

"Very well, Ned, we will try your plan and see what it leads to. Ah!
here comes the boat; they are just shoving off from the beach. Lay aft
here some of you; overhaul those davit-tackles, and then stand by to
hoist up the gig."

A quarter of an hour later the boat arrived alongside; she was hoisted
up, the main-yards were swung, and the ship glided away on a north by
east a half east course.

By sunset the ship, with the wind on her quarter, had run a distance of
about fifty miles, when she was brought to the wind and hove-to for the
night. At daybreak next morning the quest was resumed; and at noon the
ship wore, her appointed distance of one hundred miles being completed.
This mode of procedure was persevered in until noon of the seventh day
after that on which they had landed Captain Blyth and Bob Manners,
during which interval several islands had been sighted and examined
without result, when, at the time named, Ned discovered by observation
that the ship was two hundred and five miles north-east by east of the
island which was now the home of those unfortunates. He had just
completed his observations and calculations when the look-out aloft
reported land on the port bow.

Williams went aloft to take a look at the reported land for himself, and
invited Ned to accompany him. The journey to the royal-yard was soon
accomplished, and the land was seen. It lay on the horizon like a faint
grey cloud; indeed so thin and misty-looking was its appearance that an
untrained eye would assuredly have mistaken it for a bank of vapour; but
its outlines were so sharply-defined, and its shape so unchanging, that
the experienced eyes of the gazers recognised it at once for what it
was--namely, good solid earth. It was a long distance off, however--
fully forty miles away according to Ned's estimate--and from its spread
along the horizon it seemed to be an island of considerable size. The
ship was at once headed for it; but it was five bells in the afternoon
watch before it became visible from the deck, and at sunset the ship was
still six miles distant to the southward of it. By that time, however,
it had become apparent that it was an island of some nine or ten miles
in length, with a pretty regular height of about four hundred fe