Bob made a hearty meal,
and, taking advantage of the freedom thus afforded them, they examined
their position in relation to the shore by naked eye and with one of the
glasses from the captain's cabin.

There it all was as they had partly seen overnight: the vessel firmly
fixed in the rocky shallows of a great lagoon, whose waters were fast
becoming of crystal-clearness and as smooth as a pond, while sea-ward
there was the great sheltering reef with everlasting breakers thundering
and fretting and throwing up a cloud of surf.

On the other side, comparatively close at hand, was, as far as they
could make out, the lovely shore of a beautiful island, bathed in
sunshine and glorious in rich verdure and purple shade, while they could
now clearly see the sparkling surface of the stream, which tumbled in
rapids and falls down to the vivid blue waters of the lagoon.

"Looks good enough for anything, sir, don't it?"

"A perfect paradise, Bostock," said the doctor, who could hardly tear
his eyes from the glorious scene.

"It just is, sir," said the old sailor; "makes a man feel quite young
again to see it. My word! won't that dear lad enjy hisself as soon as
he's well enough to go ashore? I'm reckoning ongoing with him, sir.
Won't be to-day, I suppose?"

"No," said the doctor, smiling, as he closed the glass in its case; "nor
yet this month, Bostock."

"That's a long time, sir. I might pig-aback him if we got him ashore."

"Let's get him well first."

"Right, sir, you know best; but I don't want the poor young chap to be
dull and moping. I might rig up some fishing-tackle for him, though,
so's he could sit on deck here and fish."

"Yes, by-and-by; but he will not be dull. We'll amuse him somehow."

"That we will, sir; and now you must be skipper and take the lead, for I
s'pose we shall have to live here a bit."

"Is that likely to be the mainland?" said the doctor, by way of answer.

"Not it, sir. One of the hundreds of islands out in these parts."

"I see no sign of inhabitants."

"That's right, sir. Men's scarce about here. We shan't see none, and I
don't expect we shall see any ships go by. Skippers give these waters a
wide berth on account of the coral reefs. Strikes me that we shall have
to make ourselves comf'table and wait till something turns up. The
_Susan's_ as safe as a house. Even if another storm comes, as there
will some day, she can't move. She'll get to be more of a fixter as the
y