tive village fifteen miles
away.

With the dawn came a sudden terrific downpour of rain, which lasted
but for a few minutes, and both Chard and Hendry knew, from their own
experience and from the appearance of the sky, that such outbursts
were likely to continue for at least five or six days, with but brief
intervals of cessation.

"We might as well get ashore somewhere about here," said Hendry; "this
is the tail-end of the rainy season, and we can expect heavy rain and
nasty squalls for a week at least. It's come on a bit earlier than I
expected, and I think we'll be better ashore than boxing about at sea.
Can you see the land to the south'ard?"

Chard stood up and shielded his eyes from the still falling rain, but it
was too thick for him to discern anything but the misty outline of the
palm-fringed shore immediately near them.

"We'll wait a bit till it's a little clearer, and then we'll run in over
the reef just abreast of us," said Hendry; "it's about high water,
and as there is no surf we can cross over into the lagoon without any
trouble, and pick out a camping-place somewhere on the inner beach."

They lowered the sail and mast, took out their oars, and waited till
they could see clearly before them. A few minutes later they were
pulling over the reef, on which there was no break, and in another
half a mile they reached the shore of the most northern of the chain of
islets encompassing the lagoon, and made the boat's painter fast to the
serried roots of a pandanus palm growing at the edge of the water.

Then they sought rest and shelter from the next downpour beneath the
overhanging summits of some huge, creeper-clad boulders of coral rock,
which lay piled together in the midst of the dense scrub, just beyond
high-water mark.

Bringing their arms and some provisions from the boat, they placed them
on the dry sandy soil under one of the boulders, ate their breakfast,
and then slept the sleep of men mentally and physically exhausted.

When they awoke the rain had cleared off, and the sun was shining
brightly. By the captain's watch it was a little past one o'clock, and
after looking at the boat, which was high and dry on the beach; for the
tide was now dead low, Chard suggested that they should make a
brief examination of the islet, and get come young drinking and some
fully-grown coconuts for use in the boat.

"Very likely we'll find some turtle eggs too," he added; "this and next
month is the season.