go to sea. That afternoon, and the
greater part of the following day, was devoted to the task of
replenishing the brig's stock of fresh water, collecting an abundant
supply of fruit, and--presumably--recovering possession of their hidden
treasure; and after breakfast next morning the crew went leisurely to
work to get under way. It took us until noon to work our way out to
sea; and as soon as we were fairly clear of the barrier reef, everybody
went to dinner.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

I LEARN SOME DISTURBING NEWS.

The weather had been fine, with moderate breezes from about
west-north-west, during the entire period of our sojourn at the island,
and we left it under like conditions. Our course for the Horn was a
south-easterly one, which brought the wind nicely over the starboard
quarter, and the breeze was of just the right strength to enable us to
show the whole of our starboard flight of studding-sails to it, and to
handsomely reel off our eleven knots per hour by the log. Under these
circumstances we were not long in running the island out of sight; and
with its disappearance below the horizon I hoped that my troubles--
except, of course, such as might arise from bad weather--were at an end.
As for the men, their sojourn on the island had done them good, they
were in splendid health and--as might be expected of men in their
condition who had so easily become wealthy--in high spirits, they seemed
anxious to get home, and were, one and all, upon their best behaviour,
being apparently desirous of conciliating me to the utmost possible
extent, now that their own ends had been served. But although I deemed
it sound diplomacy to allow them to believe that their endeavours in
this direction were meeting with perfect success, I could not forget
that, in the prosecution of their own selfish plans, they had shown
themselves to be callously criminal, and utterly indifferent to all the
hardship and suffering, mental and bodily, that they were inflicting
upon a young, delicately-nurtured, sensitive woman--to say nothing of
what they had caused me to endure; and I determined that, if it lay in
my power to scheme out such a result, they should, one and all, pay the
penalty of their crimes.

The apparently favourable condition of affairs to which I have just
referred continued for fully a week after our departure from the island;
and then I received a rude awakening. It happened thus:

The weather was still gloriously fin