all instinctively directed our steps.

We hurriedly climbed to the top of it, then cast our eyes round in every
direction. There was a speck in the horizon to the southward, but only
a speck. There was no doubt that it was a sail. It might have been the
_Orion_, considering the direction of the breeze which had been blowing
all night; it was the point she would most likely have attained had she
made sail the instant darkness set in. It became too evident that we
had been intentionally deserted, for there was not the slightest
necessity for her quitting the neighbourhood of the island. Strange and
almost overwhelming were the feelings we experienced.

"What is to be done, sir?" I asked of Mr Henley. "Shall we try to
overtake her in the boat?"

"That would be utterly hopeless," he answered. "That was the reason
Grimes pressed me to take the pinnace. Her planks are rotten, and she
was scarcely fit even to pull the short distance we came in her, much
less is she capable of carrying us safely away from this."

This was very evident, for we had had constantly to bale her out on
coming from the ship to the island. The feelings of all the party can
better be imagined than described when we were convinced that we had
been thus purposely and cruelly deserted, and that until some vessel
should come off the island, or we could contrive to build one capable of
navigating the Indian seas, we should have to remain where we were.
Months or even years might pass before we could get away. Our chief
hope was that Dr Cuff would give information at Colombo of our having
been left on the island, and that a vessel might be sent for us, though,
of course, Captain Gunnel and the first mate would try to persuade him
that the boat was lost, or that we had deserted. None of the party,
however, were inclined to despair. As soon as Mr Henley had got over
his first sensations of indignation, he did his best to keep up our
spirits. Having breakfasted, the first thing we did was to haul up the
boat to examine her thoroughly.

"It will never do to venture to sea in her," said Mr Henley, and Johnny
Spratt agreed with him. "She would answer, however, to form the centre
of a raft, on which, if strongly put together, we might venture to sail
for some port in India or Ceylon."

These and similar remarks cheered us more than anything. There is
nothing like action or anticipation of active work for keeping up the
spirits. We dragged the