scale, I set
to work to scheme out a craft that should be easy to build, fast, stiff
and weatherly under canvas, a fairly good sea-boat, and of light
draught. It was a decidedly ambitious scheme for an individual who, up
to then, had attempted nothing bigger than a three-foot model; but even
that experience was, I soon found, of great value to me; and ultimately
I evolved a design that I believed would approach within a reasonable
distance of my requirements. This done, I routed out the carpenter's
chest of tools from the forecastle, cleaned and sharpened them, got up
on deck such timber as I immediately required, and started work, with
Billy as an enthusiastic helpmate.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

WE GO EXPLORING, AND MEET WITH AN ADVENTURE.

It cost Billy and me nearly three months of strenuous labour to build
our boat, rig her, and get her afloat; then, upon a certain day, the boy
and I, provided with a rifle apiece, a brace of revolvers, and an
abundant supply of cartridges for each kind of weapon, climbed down the
side of the wreck into our completed craft, set her sails, and pushed
off upon our first voyage of exploration.

The wind was, as usual, blowing a moderate breeze from the eastward when
we started, consequently the island lay dead to windward, a "beat" of
two miles to the nearest point of the beach, thus affording an excellent
opportunity to test the weatherly qualities of the boat; and I was
agreeably surprised not only at the style in which she turned to
windward, but also at the speed with which she slipped through the
water, and the certainty and celerity with which she "stayed". She made
the distance in a few minutes over the half-hour, which, considering
that as we drew in under the land the wind grew ever more scanty, I
regarded as a very creditable performance.

As we shortened the distance between ourselves and the land the prospect
grew ever more attractive, eliciting frequent exclamations of delight
from Billy. The ground now revealed itself as finely broken into a
range of lofty hills of gracefully flowing outline, with suggestions of
picturesque valleys winding between them, affording an infinite variety
of glowing light and soft shadow, while the variegated and brilliant
hues of the foliage completed a picture of indescribable beauty.

But all this beauty by no means exhausted the charm of the place, for as
we drew still closer to the beach we were able to distinguish that the
woods wer