a
ship under full sail. It was far-off, nearly on the horizon, but quite
distinct, and large enough to be recognised.

Of course the gazers were spellbound again. It was the first real ship
they had ever seen, but they easily recognised it, being familiar with
man's floating prisons from the frequent descriptions given to them by
John Adams, and especially from a drawing made by him, years ago, on the
back of an old letter, representing a full-rigged man-of-war. This
masterpiece of fine art had been nailed up on the walls of John Adams's
hut, and had been fully expounded to each child in succession, as soon
after its birth as was consistent with common-sense--sometimes sooner.

Suddenly Otaheitan Sally recovered herself.

"Come, Matt, we must run home an' tell what we've seen."

Away they went like two goats up the cliffs. Panting and blazing, they
charged down on their amazed playmates, shouting, "A sip! a sip!" but
never turning aside nor slacking their pace until they burst with the
news on the astonished mutineers.

Something more than astonishment, however, mingled with the feelings of
the seamen, and it was not until they had handled the knife, and visited
the sandy cove, and seen the foot-prints, and beheld the vessel herself,
that they became fully convinced that she had really been close to the
island, that men had apparently landed to gather cocoa-nuts, and had
gone away without having discovered the settlement, which was hid from
their view by the high cliffs to the eastward of Bounty Bay.

The vessel had increased her distance so much by the time the men
reached the cove, that it was impossible to make out what she was.

"A man-o'-war, mayhap, sent to search for us," suggested Quintal.

"Not likely," said Adams. "If she'd bin sent to search for us, she
wouldn't have contented herself with only pickin' a few nuts."

"I should say she is a trader that has got out of her course," said
Young; "but whatever she is, we've seen the last of her. I'm not sure
that I wouldn't have run the risk of having our hiding-place found out,
and of being hung, for the sake of seeing once more the fresh face of a
white man."

He spoke with a touch of sadness in his tone, which contrasted forcibly
with the remark that followed.

"It's little _I_ would care about the risk o' bein' scragged," said
Quintal, "if I could only once more have a stiff glass o' grog an' a
pipe o' good, strong, genuine baccy!"

"You'll m