owever, there was no use in worrying about it, the only thing
to be done was to retrace our steps and try one of the other channels.

It must not be supposed that the channel which we had thus traversed to
its extremity was unbroken; on the contrary, there were several other
channels branching out of it to right and left at various points in its
length, two of which at least--one about three miles back, and another
five miles back--had struck us as not altogether unpromising, and our
idea was now to return and examine these. But before starting upon our
return journey Gurney made a suggestion that was destined to exercise an
extraordinary influence upon our future. As we lay hove-to in the cul-
de-sac, discussing the question of what should next be done, our
attention had been more than once attracted toward a large hummock of
rock rising some thirty or forty feet above the general level of the
reef, at no great distance from the margin of the channel; and Gurney's
proposal was that, before attempting anything else, we should land, make
our way to the hummock, climb it, and ascertain whether any observations
of value were to be made from its summit. The proposal had so much to
commend it that it was agreed to forthwith. Laying the boat alongside
the rock at a convenient spot, we all three landed, and set out to walk
across the reef. The hummock in question was only some two hundred
yards from the margin of the channel; we therefore soon reached it,
despite the difficulty of the going, the surface of the reef proving to
be exceedingly rough, and covered for the most part with weed so
terribly slippery that it was positively dangerous to attempt to walk
upon it. When at length we reached the summit of the rock we were not
much better off; for although we could see from thence a great deal more
of the reef than was to be observed from the boat, we made no
discoveries that were likely to facilitate our escape.

But while we stood upon the summit of this rock, staring about us, our
attention was arrested by the sight of a great brown patch, some three
or four acres in extent, showing up strongly against the dull black of
the otherwise weed-covered rock. Although it obviously had nothing to
do with channels, or extricating the ship from her extraordinary
situation, our curiosity was aroused, and we determined to pay it a
visit and ascertain its character before returning to the boat. It lay
some three hundred yards to