eets and fruits, unknown
even by name; and such coffee, and perfectly ambrosial cacao. The young
ladies seemed to have nothing to do but to amuse them, and perfectly
ready they were to be amused, in a quiet way though, for the heat in the
middle of the day was too great for much skylarking.

Don Antonio and the other gentlemen had gone into the town but they
returned in the evening with Captain Hemming, who invited all the party
to take a cruise to the southern end of the island, as he wished to
visit the Pitch Lake and the Indian settlements, and to perform certain
official duties. The colonel and his daughter, and Don Antonio and his
wife, with most of the young ladies, accepted it, and a very delightful
trip they had; and, of course, a dance was got up on board, which was
more interesting to the fair damsels and the naval officers than any of
the natural curiosities the island could afford. It was whispered in
the gunroom that they were to have some of their visitors on board for a
much longer time, and it at last came out that the captain had promised
a passage to Colonel O'Regan and his daughter to Jamaica. Adair and
Gerald rode out to wish their cousins good-bye. The old lady was as
cordial as ever, and all of them made much of the midshipmen; but
Terence had a slight suspicion that the younger ones were somewhat
piqued that he and Jack had not laid their hearts at their feet. They
were very pretty, charming girls, he acknowledged, and he was not
certain what might have happened had he remained longer. Perhaps they
were just a little jealous of Stella. He thought so when his sweet
cousin Maria whispered, "No one will deny that she is very beautiful,
but she is cold as the snow on Chimborazo, and it is said that while
playing havoc with the affections of her admirers, she leaves them to
their fate with the most callous indifference."

"Jack Rogers thinks very differently of her," remarked Adair. "He says
that she is one of the most enthusiastic creatures he has ever met; but
still I don't know that he can exactly make her out."

"No one can," answered Maria. "She seems very affectionate to us, and
grateful for the attention we have been able to show her, and yet we do
not know her better now than we did at first."

Just then the subject of their conversation approached, and directly
afterwards Jack and his brother rode up to pay a short farewell visit,
and to escort Stella to the town, where her father