ad been helping the steward, and stood before us,
alert and evidently prepared to answer questions. He was only a little
chap, fair-haired and blue-eyed, and his eyelids were red, as though he
had recently been crying; but there were honesty, straightforwardness,
and fearlessness in the way in which he looked me straight in the eye,
and an evident eagerness in his manner that greatly pleased me.

"This," said Enderby, by way of introduction, "is Billy Stenson, the
skipper's son. He haven't no mother, pore little chap, so he've been
comin' to sea with his father the last two or three years, haven't you,
Billy?"

"Yes, that's quite right, bosun," answered the boy.

"Well, now, this gentleman, Mr--er--dashed if I can remember your name,
mister!" proceeded Enderby.

"Blackburn," I prompted.

"Thank 'e, sir. Blackburn. Well, Billy," continued the boatswain,
"this here Mr Blackburn is a first-class navigator, havin' been an
orficer aboard a liner, and he'll be able to take us to Barber's
treasure island, if anybody can. But, of course, he'll have to know
whereabouts it is afore he can navigate the ship to it; and now that
your pore father's--um--no longer aboard, I reckon that you're the only
one who can say what's the latitood and longitood of it."

"But that's just what I _can't_ do, bosun," answered Billy. "I know
what the latitude of it is, but the longitude's another matter. Mr
Barber didn't know it; Father didn't know it; and _I_ don't know it."

"What!" I exclaimed. "Do you mean to tell me that your father actually
started out with the deliberate intention of looking for an island the
latitude only of which he knew?"

"Yes, sir," answered the boy, "that's right. Let me tell you how it all
happened. I know, because Father told me the story lots of times; and
besides, I've heard him and Mr Barber talking about it so often that
I'm not likely to forget a word of it. This is how it was:--

"Before Mr Barber met Father, this last time, he was mate of a Dutch
ship trading out of Batavia, collecting sandalwood and shell. They
called at a place named--named--Waing-- Do you mind, sir, if I get the
chart and show you the place on it? Somehow, I never can exactly
remember the names of these places, but I can point 'em out on the
chart, because I've listened and watched while Father and Mr Barber
talked it over together."

"Yes," I said, "by all means get the chart, my boy. I shall be able to
understand