em, and Ned was rather glad than otherwise of an opportunity to
discover what the gig could do under canvas and in such circumstances.
The masts were accordingly stepped and the sails hoisted, and in about
an hour and a half they once more found themselves alongside of the
_Flying Cloud_, those on board her having failed to sight them until
they were close at hand, from the fact that the two craft were hidden
from each other by a projecting point of land.

It was past two bells in the afternoon watch when the gig rejoined the
ship; and Williams was, of course, all anxiety to learn the result of
their protracted exploration. There was but one report that could be
made--namely, that the place could not be better adapted for their
purpose had it been specially constructed for them; and on hearing this,
Williams ordered them to at once get their dinners, announcing his
intention of taking the ship in forthwith.

Ned was as usual deputed to act as pilot, and accordingly, as soon as he
appeared on deck after getting his dinner in the saloon, all hands were
called, and sail was made upon the ship. The wind outside was at about
west-south-west, which was a fair wind all the way to the spot Ned had
fixed upon for an anchorage, except for the passage up the inlet, which
trended in a north-westerly direction. This, however, though under
ordinary circumstances it would have made the wind rather shy on that
course for a square-rigged vessel, gave Ned no concern, as he had
observed when passing in with the boat that, owing probably to the
height of the cliff on the larboard hand, the wind manifested a tendency
to draw up the inlet, and this, when the ship passed in, was found to be
sufficiently the case to keep all her canvas full. The passage to the
anchorage occupied a considerable time, in consequence of the scantiness
of the wind as soon as the ship passed in under the lee of the cliffs,
and under other circumstances it might have been tedious; but in the
present case it was quite the reverse, the unaccustomed sight of the
lofty verdure-clad hills and cliffs, the variegated tints of the
foliage, the rainbow hues of the flowers and blossoms, the gaily-painted
birds flitting here and there, and the antics of the monkeys fully
occupied the attention of all hands, and interested them so completely
that the time passed unheeded, and sunset surprised them when still half
a mile from their anchorage. Then night fell upon them with