ad-pump there, for'ard, and lay along with your buckets and
brushes!"

At two bells in the forenoon watch, when I mounted the poop after
breakfast, we were square abreast and within a mile of the island, I
having instructed the boatswain to pass as close to it as was prudent;
for I had heard of shipwrecked people having found refuge there and on
the neighbouring island of Amsterdam, and was desirous to see whether
perchance there might be anyone there at the moment. But there was no
one to be seen, at which I was not surprised, for our approach had been
slow, affording ample opportunity to anyone on the island to observe it
and make his presence known; yet no signal or sign of any kind
indicating human occupation had been descried. True, as we drew nearer,
a faint wreath of smoke here and there was occasionally seen; but our
telescopes showed us that these issued from the soil itself, and not
from fires kindled by human agency, being, no doubt, the result of
volcanic action; also there were a few goats dotted about, browsing in
groups of two or three; and their perfect placidity of demeanour was
convincing evidence of the absence of man on the island. Having
satisfied ourselves of the non-existence of human beings upon Saint
Paul, I gave the order to bear away for Amsterdam, which lies due north
and fifty miles distant from the smaller island, intending to subject it
also to a similar inquisition. Five minutes later we were running off
square before the flagging breeze, with the elusive, filmy shadow which
was as much as we could see of the island at that distance, and under
the existing atmospheric conditions hovering on the horizon over our
figurehead.

I had just completed the making of a sketch of, and the jotting down of
a few notes concerning, Saint Paul, which I thought might possibly be
useful to me some time later on in life, when, somewhat to my surprise,
the man Wilde, of whom I have already spoken, came up on to the poop and
informed me that he had somewhat to say to me if I could spare the time
to listen to him. Imagining that he might have some fresh complaint to
make regarding the food supplied to the emigrants, I closed my notebook,
returned it to my pocket, and requested him to say on.

"Thank you!" he said. "The fact is, Mr Troubridge, that I come to you
this morning as the representative and spokesman of all on board this
ship, crew as well as passengers; and it will perhaps simplify matters a