s abundance of material, and next, because I could do
all the cutting-out, the sawing, planing, mortising, and fitting aboard
the ship, where such tools and conveniences as we possessed were at
immediate command, and where I could work from early morn to dewy eve
without fear of interruption of any kind. Then, when all my timbers
were cut, shaped, and fitted, it would be a comparatively simple matter
to transfer them to the islet by means of the boat, and there erect them
and fit them together.

From such observations as I had already been able to make I had come to
the conclusion that the barrier reef upon which the _Yorkshire Lass_ lay
stranded would probably be found to encircle the group completely--with,
perhaps, a breach or two in it somewhere; and, as the determination of
this point seemed to me a matter of some importance, I decided that our
next exploration should be conducted with that object. Accordingly,
upon the morning of the fifth day after our first expedition we again
left the wreck, the boat being well stocked with everything we could
think of as likely to be required during a week's cruise.

As before, we started by steering a northerly course, and in due time
arrived off the entrance of the channel which we had explored on our
first trip, and which had proved to lead to the centre of the group.
But on this occasion, instead of entering the channel as before, I
continued to push northward, the barrier reef still holding intact on
our port hand while to starboard lay what proved to be the most
northerly island of the group. As we coasted along its north-westerly
shore we were able to see that, while the southern portion of it was low
and flat, a range of hills occupied its eastern side, while another less
lofty and less extensive range marked its north-western extremity. But
the land looked savage, unattractive, uninviting. We therefore made no
attempt to land, contenting ourselves with the maintenance of a strict
and continuous scrutiny of the country through the telescope.

Uninviting, however, as was the aspect of the island, it became markedly
more so when we were presently favoured with a glimpse of some of its
inhabitants, of which, thus far, we had seen nothing. We had just
rounded the headland that was the most northerly point of the group
visible from the deck of the _Yorkshire Lass_, and had hauled up close
to the wind to fetch another point, some four miles distant to the
north-eastw