in the sand in which to deposit the
anchor, when Roger's attention was attracted by a sound of rustling in
the wood behind them. He looked round, and perceived that for a
considerable distance along the beach the foliage appeared to be moving
to and fro, as though stirred by a slight breeze. Yet, so far as he
could tell, down there on the beach, there was no wind at all stirring,
nor had there been a breath of air all the morning; the atmosphere, in
fact, was so still, and withal so heavy, that a thunder-storm was
anticipated.

Another circumstance that he noted was that this peculiar movement in
the bush extended only from just beyond where the seamen were now
occupied to a point a trifle beyond where they had been at work a few
minutes before, fixing the anchor of the flagship. Everywhere else the
foliage was absolutely without movement of any kind, as it had been
during the whole of the morning.

Much perplexed how to account for this singular phenomenon, he stood
gazing at the moving foliage, and wondering what it could portend.

The movement seemed to be confined to the one place only, but as he
gazed the motion suddenly ceased, and all was quiet as before.

He looked round to see if any of the other men had observed anything,
but they were all much too intent on the work in hand to take notice of
anything else; and his friend Harry was just as busy as the rest of the
men. He therefore dismissed the matter from his mind, thinking that his
eyes might perhaps have deceived him, and set to work again with the
other men.

The hole was soon dug and the anchor deposited therein, planks and
baulks of timber being laid upon it as before. The sand was filled in
and a mound raised above the work, and it only remained to further
secure the anchor by putting a spring on to the cable, and fastening to
a palm-tree as before.

As this last part of the work was being done, and the spring being
lashed round the palm-tree, one of the seamen, named Martin, grasped
Roger by the arm.

"Do you see that, Master Trevose?" said he, pointing.

"What do you mean, Martin?" answered Roger.

"Why, over there, sir," said the man, pointing in the same direction as
that in which Roger had seen the peculiar movement of the foliage some
little time before. "I be sure I saw something shining among the trees
just now. What d'ye think it can be? I only just caught a sight of it
for a moment; but I be sure I beaint mistaken."

Roger