he
had been compelled to take shelter in one of their harbours. I told
Charlie what I thought of doing.

"Dick and I will be ready to accompany you, whatever you may decide," he
answered.

"Then let us go at once," I said. "We have a sail in the boat, and,
though the distance between the islands is considerable, we may cross in
a few hours from one to the other."

When we told the missionary what we intended to do, he strongly urged us
to remain with him for a day or two, in the hope that the schooner might
in the mean time return.

"The vessel may be on one side of the island, and you may be passing on
the other and thus miss her," he observed.

I thanked him very much, but still told him that I was too anxious to
commence our search to delay a moment longer than necessary. As the
schooner carried another gig, my brother was certain to send on shore,
should we miss each other, to inquire for us, and we agreed to return
should we fail to find him.

"If you insist on going, I must beg you to allow me to supply you with
provisions and water," said our kind friend, "and I must advise you to
be very cautious in attempting to land on any of the islands. You must
remember that they are inhabited by treacherous races, on whom no
dependence can be placed. It will be better to endure hunger and thirst
than to run the risk of being clubbed, should you land among hostile
natives."

I again thanked him heartily for his kindness, and assured him that we
would be as cautious as necessary. Bidding him and his companion and
their wives farewell, we went down to the boat, accompanied by a number
of natives carrying the provisions with which we had been furnished.
Our boat was launched, and we put to sea.

CHAPTER NINE.

We had what might prove a long and dangerous voyage before us, while we
were almost overwhelmed with the anxiety we felt about the fate of the
schooner. We could see the first island we intended to visit just
rising out of the water, blue and indistinct, and as it was calm we had
to depend upon our oars to reach it, but we hoped before long to get a
favourable breeze which would send us on our way. The sun struck down
on our heads with intense force, but we were too anxious to think about
it. I proposed that we should relieve each other at the oars, so that
we might continue pulling, if necessary, all day. Jack Lizard, Potts,
and Tubb declared that they would not allow us to do that.

"If you