had predicted
came off the land, first in a series of what sailors term "cat's paws,"
and then in a steady breeze, which lasted several hours, and caused the
vessel to slip rapidly through the still water. As he looked anxiously
over the bow, Captain Montague felt that he had placed himself
completely in the power of the suspected skipper of the Foam; for coral
reefs surrounded him on all sides, and many of them passed so close to
the ship's side that he expected every moment to feel the shock that
would wreck his vessel and his hopes at the same time. He blamed himself
for trusting a man whom he supposed he had such good reason to doubt,
but consoled himself by thrusting his hand into his bosom an grasping
the handle of a pistol, with which, in the event of the ship striking,
he had made up his mind to blow out Gascoyne's brains.

About an hour later, the Talisman was hove-to off the Goat's Pass, and
Ole Thorwald was landed with his party at the base of a cliff which rose
sheer up from the sea like a wall.

"Are we to go up there?" inquired Ole, in a rueful tone of voice, as he
surveyed a narrow chasm to which Gascoyne guided him.

"That is the way. It's not so bad at it looks. When you get to the top,
follow the little path that leads along the cliffs northward, and you
will reach the brow of a hill from which the native village will be
visible. Descend and attack it at once, if you find men to fight with;
if not, take possession quietly. Mind you don't take the wrong turn; it
leads to places where a wildcat would not venture even in daylight. If
you attend to what I have said, you can't go wrong. Good-night. Shove
off."

The oars splashed in the sea at the word, and Gascoyne returned to the
ship, leaving Ole to lead his men up the Pass as best he might.

It seemed as if the pilot had resolved to make sure of the destruction
of the ship that night; for, not content with running her within a foot
or two of innumerable reefs, he at last steered in so close to the shore
that the beetling cliffs actually seemed to overhang the deck. When the
sun rose, the breeze died away; but sufficient wind continued to fill
the upper sails, and to urge the vessel gently onward for some time
after the surface of the sea was calm.

Montague endeavored to conceal and repress his anxiety as long as
possible; but when at length a line of breakers without any apparent
opening presented themselves right ahead, he went up to Gascoyne and