t--steady!"

"Steady it is!" responded the man at the wheel.

"Let go!" shouted the captain.

A heavy plunge, followed by the rattling of chains and swinging round of
the brig, told that they had come to an anchor in the lagoon of the
Cocos-Keeling Islands.

CHAPTER III.

INTERESTING PARTICULARS OF VARIOUS KINDS.

By the first blush of dawn Nigel Roy hastened on deck, eager to see the
place in regard to which his father's narrative had awakened in him
considerable interest.

It not only surpassed but differed from all his preconceived ideas. The
brig floated on the bosom of a perfectly calm lake of several miles in
width, the bottom of which, with its bright sand and brilliant
coral-beds, could be distinctly seen through the pellucid water. This
lake was encompassed by a reef of coral which swelled here and there
into tree-clad islets, and against which the breakers of the Indian
Ocean were dashed into snowy foam in their vain but ceaseless efforts to
invade the calm serenity of the lagoon. Smaller islands, rich with
vegetation, were scattered here and there within the charmed circle,
through which several channels of various depths and sizes connected the
lagoon with the ocean.

"We shall soon have the king himself off to welcome us," said Captain
Roy as he came on deck and gave a sailor-like glance all round the
horizon and then up at the sky from the mere force of habit. "Visitors
are not numerous here. A few scientific men have landed now and again;
Darwin the great naturalist among others in 1836, and Forbes in 1878. No
doubt they'll be very glad to welcome Nigel Roy in this year of grace
1883."

"But I'm not a naturalist, father, more's the pity."

"No matter, lad; you're an ammytoor first mate, an' pr'aps a poet may
count for somethin' here. They lead poetical lives and are fond o'
poetry."

"Perhaps that accounts for the fondness you say they have for you,
father."

"Just so, lad. See!--there's a boat puttin' off already: the king, no
doubt."

He was right. Mr. Ross, the appointed governor, and "King of the Cocos
Islands," was soon on deck, heartily shaking hands with and welcoming
Captain Roy as an old friend. He carried him and his son off at once to
breakfast in his island-home; introduced Nigel to his family, and then
showed them round the settlement, assuring them at the same time that
all its resources were at their disposal for the repair of the
_Sunshine_.

"Thank 'ee kindly,