One of the boats was lowered into the water--under command of the
second mate, who had already taken the bearings of the tabooed island by
daylight. Four of the men were to go with him, and they were all to be
well armed. Mr. Duncalf addressed his final instructions to the officer
in the boat.

"You will keep a lookout, sir, with a lantern in the bows. If the
natives annoy you, you know what to do. Always shoot natives. When you
get anigh the island, you will fire a gun and sing out for the Captain."

"Quite needless," interposed a voice from the sea. "The Captain is
here!"

Without taking the slightest notice of the astonishment that he had
caused, the commander of the _Fortuna_ paddled his canoe to the side of
the ship. Instead of ascending to the deck, he stepped into the boat,
waiting alongside. "Lend me your pistols," he said quietly to the second
officer, "and oblige me by taking your men back to their duties on
board." He looked up at Mr. Duncalf and gave some further directions.
"If there is any change in the weather, keep the ship standing off and
on, at a safe distance from the land, and throw up a rocket from time to
time to show your position. Expect me on board again by sunrise."

"What!" cried the mate. "Do you mean to say you are going back to the
island--in that boat--all by yourself?"

"I am going back to the island," answered the Captain, as quietly as
ever; "in this boat--all by myself." He pushed off from the ship, and
hoisted the sail as he spoke.

"You're deserting your duty!" the old sea-dog shouted, with one of his
loudest oaths.

"Attend to my directions," the Captain shouted back, as he drifted away
into the darkness.

Mr. Duncalf--violently agitated for the first time in his life--took
leave of his superior officer, with a singular mixture of solemnity and
politeness, in these words:

"The Lord have mercy on your soul! I wish you good-evening."

VIII.

ALONE in the boat, the Captain looked with a misgiving mind at the
flashing of the volcano on the main island.

If events had favored him, he would have removed Aimata to the shelter
of the ship on the day when he saw the emptied basin on the lake. But
the smoke of the Priest's sacrifice had been discovered by the chief;
and he had dispatched two canoes with instructions to make inquiries.
One of the canoes had returned; the other was kept in waiting off the
cape, to place a means of communicating with the main island at the
dis