inding a character that, according to a
very careful estimate, the ship would have to traverse no less than a
hundred and ten miles of waterway before clearing the reef; consequently
it would be impossible to accomplish the whole distance during the hours
of daylight of a single day; while to attempt the navigation of any
portion of it during the hours of darkness was altogether too hazardous
an undertaking to be calmly thought of. But, as though this difficulty
were not in itself sufficient, there was a stretch of twelve miles of
channel running in a north-easterly direction which the ship could not
possibly negotiate under sail unless a change of wind should occur--of
which there seemed to be absolutely no prospect. The only alternative,
therefore, would be to kedge those twelve miles; truly a most formidable
undertaking for four persons--one of them being a girl--to attempt.
Fortunately, however, for us all, the problem of how to overcome these
tremendous difficulties was solved for us by accident, and quite
unexpectedly. For, upon going over this long and intricate channel
again, in order thoroughly to familiarise ourselves with it, and to
become better acquainted with its many danger-points, it happened that
on the return journey--which was being made by moonlight--we missed our
way, continuing along what appeared to be the main channel, instead of
diverging into a branch trending to the eastward; and by the time that
we discovered our mistake we were so favourably impressed with the
appearance of this new, strange channel--which seemed to be running
almost straight toward Mercury Basin--that we determined to follow it up
and see whither it led.

Not to dilate unnecessarily upon this portion of our adventures, we
discovered, to our infinite satisfaction and delight, that it did indeed
ultimately conduct us back to the ship; and that, too, by a route which
reduced the distance to be travelled to about forty-five miles, or very
considerably less than half that of the other channel. Moreover, while
the original channel first ran north, then north-east, for the twelve
miles that were only to be covered by kedging--before it ultimately
changed its course to south--in which direction the point of ultimate
egress lay, the new channel left Mercury Basin at its western, or
leeward, extremity, running first west, then south-west, and ultimately
south, straight out to sea. Thus the whole distance could be traversed
under