must certainly temper the heat and
render it perfectly endurable.

The people on deck, seeing how I was engaged, waited with exemplary
patience until I should make a move; but the moment I rose to my feet
and prepared to descend the rigging there was a rush to that part of the
deck which I must first touch, upon my return from aloft, every
individual in the crowd evidently charged with questions which he fully
intended to fire off at me without further delay. While descending the
ratlines, therefore, I hastily prepared a little speech which I hoped
would not prove disappointing to them.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

AN END TO MY RESPONSIBILITIES.

As I stepped out of the rigging on to the rail, and stood there grasping
a backstay, there was a sudden rushing together of the crowd, every eye
sought mine, and a few of the more eager ones stretched out their hands,
as though to grasp me and thus establish a sort of claim to my immediate
attention. But I had no inclination to subject myself to the sort of
cross-questioning that might be expected from folk of the class of which
the emigrants were largely composed. I therefore raised my hand for
silence and to command attention, and when I saw that they were ready to
listen to me I began.

"I can see," I said, "that you are all very naturally anxious to learn
what I have been able to discover concerning yonder beautiful island
during my long stay aloft. I will therefore embrace the opportunity
which you have given me, by assembling yourselves together, to tell you
collectively the result of my observations.

"To begin with the size of the island, of which you are probably as well
able to judge as I am. Roughly speaking, it is of circular shape, as
you have already had the opportunity to see for yourselves, and I
estimate its diameter to be, as nearly as may be, ten miles. This
should give you an area of somewhere about seventy-eight and a half
square miles, or upwards of fifty thousand acres, of which probably
three-quarters will be found useful for any purpose to which you may
wish to put it. I therefore think you will agree with me that the
island is amply large enough to accommodate you all, and find you plenty
of employment for the remainder of your lives. I have seen several
streams of water, evidently fresh, flowing down its slopes; you are
therefore not likely to perish of thirst; on the contrary, there must be
an abundant supply, judging from the evidences of a