nd fall of the breakers outside. These ever-growing
reefs would surround the whole coast were it not for the fresh water
that oozes out from the land and prevents the coral from growing at
certain points, thus keeping open narrow passages through the reef,
or wider stretches along the coast free from rocks. These basins form
good anchorages for small craft, as the swell of the open sea cannot
cross the reef; only the entrances are often crooked and hard to find.

Our captain brought us safely into a quiet lagoon, where the yacht
lay in deep green water, smooth as glass, while beyond the reef the
breakers dashed a silver line across the blue ocean.

Of course we immediately went shooting on the reef. I did not have
much sport, as I could see nothing worth shooting, but I was much
interested in wading in the warm water to observe the multiform animal
life of the reef. There was the "beche-de-mer," the sea-cucumber,
yellow or purplish-black, a shapeless mass lying in pools; this is
a delicacy highly valued by the Chinese and therefore a frequent
article of exportation. The animals are collected, cut open, dried
and shipped. There was the ugly muraena, which goes splashing and
winding like a snake between boulders, and threatens the intruder
with poisonous looks and snapping jaws. Innumerable bright-coloured
fish shot hither and thither in the flat pools, there were worms,
sea-stars, octopus, crabs. The wealth of animal life on the reef,
where each footstep stirs up a hundred creatures, is incredible,
and ever so many more are hidden in the rocks and crevices.

The plants that had taken root in the coral were mostly mangrove
bushes with great forked roots.

CHAPTER III

THE SEGOND CHANNEL--LIFE ON A PLANTATION

When the tide rose, we returned to the yacht and continued our cruise
northward, passed the small islands of Rano, Atchin, Vao and others,
crossed the treacherous Bougainville Strait between Malekula and
Santo, and came to anchor in the Canal du Segond formed by Santo and
Malo. This channel is about eight miles long and three-quarters of
a mile wide at its narrowest point. On its shores, which belong to a
French company, is a colony of about a hundred and fifty Frenchmen. The
Segond Channel would be a good harbour but for very strong currents
caused by the tides, which are unfavourable to small boats; its
location, too, is not very central. The shores are flat, but rise
abruptly at some points to a h