observed Captain Frankland. "If so, they are a class of
gentry we must be on the watch for and keep clear of. They cannot be
far-off, and they are not likely to stand on ceremony, if they want a
ship, which is probable, about helping themselves to the first they fall
in with likely to suit them."

Jerry and I agreed, however, that we should very much like to meet with
the pirates and have a brush with them.

"They would find us better prepared than they expected," said he. "They
do not know, besides our big guns, what a supply of arms we have on
board."

Notwithstanding our strong suspicions of the character of the stranger,
he was treated from the first with every possible kindness. All this
time we were approaching Robinson Crusoe's island. We almost expected
to see a man dressed in goat-skins, with a high conical cap, a gun in
his hand, and a negro and goat moving behind him, waiting on the shore
to welcome us. In my opinion, he would have found his dress of skins
very hot in that climate, while his savage could have been only of a
lightish-brown colour. As we drew in with the land, rocks, trees, and
shrubs, clothing the sides of the lofty and picturesque mountains, grew
more and more distinct; and then a few cottages peeped out here and
there, and a fort guarding the only harbour, with the Chilian flag
flying over it, showing us that it was no longer a deserted island; but,
unfortunately, the inhabitants we found were not of a class to make it
the abode of peace and contentment. The Chilian Government have turned
it into a penal settlement, and the chief residents are the convicts and
their guards. It is only to be hoped that the result of their labours
may make it a fitter place for the habitation of more virtuous people.
We ran into the harbour, which is nearly land-locked, and dropped our
anchor. It was a curious feeling, coming suddenly from the storm-tossed
ocean, to find ourselves surrounded by land, with lofty mountains rising
up from the shore close to us. We all agreed that we were never in a
more beautiful or picturesque spot. Even now the town is a very rough
sort of a place. There might have been a hundred cottages, some neatly
white-washed, but others made only of boughs and mud; and even the
governor's house is only of one story. The fort was a mere stockade,
and of little use as a defence. The governor was an Englishman, who
belonged to the Chilian navy. Poor fellow! his was a very