ire and cook
them, but in our hurry to get off we had come away without any spare
wood.

"Never mind, lads," said the mate; "we'll get some at the Pellew
Islands, and after that we'll have a hot meal every other day at least."

Brown was always on the look-out with his harpoon, ready to strike any
large fish which might come near us, but they seemed to know what we
were about, and kept at a respectful distance. Now and then a shark
would come up and have a look at us, and the men would call him all
manner of names. One day, as we were running along at the rate of about
five knots an hour, we saw a black fin coming up astern; it sheered off
under the counter and then floated up abreast of us, just coming near
enough to show us its wicked eye. It kept too far off, however, for
Brown to strike it, or it might have paid dearly for its curiosity. At
last, cocking its eye, it gave a turn of its tail, and off it went like
a shot, followed by our roars of laughter.

"Tend on it, Jack Shark find dat we not going to make dinner for him dis
day!" cried Sam Coal, "so he tink better go look out sumber else."

Such were the trifling incidents which afforded us amusement and
assisted to keep up our spirits. It was trying work, thus to sit all
day and day after day in an open boat with nothing to do, and unable to
move about freely. We were very thankful, however, to be favoured by
such fine weather.

At last Mr Griffiths stood up in the stern-sheets, and, after shading
his eyes for some time--for the sun had already passed the zenith, said
quietly, "Lads, we have made a good landfall. I'm much mistaken if we
have not the Pellew Islands in sight. I make out a dozen or more blue
hillocks rising above the horizon. Sit quiet, however, for you won't
see them just yet. We shall have to heave-to to-night outside the reef
which surrounds them, but I hope we shall get ashore in the morning."

This news cheered us up, for we were beginning to get somewhat downcast,
and some of us thought that we must have passed the islands altogether,
and might make no other land till we reached the Philippines. We ran on
till dark, by which time we could make out one large island and a number
of smaller ones, some to the northward and some to the southward, with a
reef marked by a line of white foam surrounding them. As it would be
dangerous to attempt looking for a passage through the reef except in
daylight, we hove-to, and the watch below