nce
of a ship coming along. We are altogether out of the line of traffic.
Ships going round the Horn keep far south of this on their way to China,
while those for Peru and Chili keep up the coast; and there is no traffic
at all from Peru or Chili to China or India."

"Now that we have everything we want here, captain, and know that we can
hold on for a long time, we ought to begin to think over our plans for the
future. If we had tools we could certainly build a craft that would carry
us to Chili; but it would be a terrible business to build one with nothing
but our swords to cut down trees, hew out the timbers, and shape planks.
Still, if there is nothing else to be done we must do that. It is only a
matter of time and patience, and we shall find that the hours hang very
heavy on our hands when all our necessary work is done here. I should
think that we ought to be able to build a craft of twenty tons in a couple
of years at the outside; at any rate, I can think of no other plan for
getting away."

"I have been thinking that we might steal a canoe when the natives come
here," the Peruvian said.

"I daresay we might, captain; but if, as is probable, they come in large
canoes, three of us would make but very little speed with one of them, and
we should be pursued and overtaken in no time. You may be sure that they
don't spend the night up on the hill, and probably when they go up they
will leave some of their number on the beach to look after the canoes, and
cook. But even if we did get away we could do nothing with such a canoe."

"I don't know," the captain said; "we might land with her on some small
island, fit a deep keel on to her, and get up a couple of masts and
lug-sails, which, of course, we should make beforehand."

"Yes, we might do that," Stephen agreed; "but the difficulty of carrying
off the boat would be immense. And besides, she would have to be
victualled; we should have to take food and water for a long journey. And
to get our barrels filled with fresh water on board would be a long task,
and utterly impossible to carry out in the short time that we should have
to spare, even if the beach was entirely deserted."

"Yes, I see it is very difficult," the captain agreed; "but I would not
mind running the risk rather than undertake two years' hard labour."

"I would not mind running the risk either, captain, if I saw any
probability of success, but I own that this seems an impossibility.
However, it m