came
with hurricane force from the southward; the crew again bolted, and
refused to come on deck, and the poor mate in trying to heave-to was
washed away from the wheel, together with the Malay serang--the only man
who stuck to him. There were now left on board alive four Malays, one
Fijian A.B. named Sam, my wife and child and myself. And I, of course,
was helpless.

"'Fiji Sam' was a plucky fellow. Aided by my wife, he succeeded in
putting the schooner before the wind and letting her drive to the
N.N.W., feeling sure that she would be giving the land a wide berth.
Unfortunately he did not count upon a four-knot current setting to the
eastward, and just as daylight was breaking we tore clean over the reef
at high water into a little bay two miles from here. The water was so
deep, and the place so sheltered, that the schooner drifted in among the
branches of the trees lining the beach, and lay there as quiet as if she
were moored to a wharf.

"Two days later the Malays seized the dinghy, taking with them
provisions and arms, and deserted me. What became of them I do not know.

"Fiji Sam found this lake, and here we built this house, after removing
all that we could from the ship, for she was leaking, and settled down
upon her keel. She is there still, but of no use.

"When we ran ashore we had in the hold some goats and pigs, which I had
bought at Anchorites' Island. The goats kept with us, but the pigs went
wild, and took to the bush. In endeavouring to shoot one, poor Fiji
Sam lost his life--his rifle caught in a vine and went off, the bullet
passing through his body.

"Not once since the wreck have we seen a single native, though on clear
days we often see smoke about fifteen miles along the coast. Anyway,
none have come near us--for which I am very glad."

Manson remarked that that was fortunate as they were "a bad lot".

"So we have been living here quietly for over two years. Twice only have
we seen a sail, but only on the horizon. And I, having neither boat nor
canoe, and being blind, was helpless."

"That is the poor fellow's story," concluded Manson. "Of course I will
give them a passage to Levuka, and we must otherwise do our best for
them. Although Hollister has lost every penny he had in the world, his
wife tells me that she owns some property in Singapore, where she also
has a brother who is in business there. By Jove, boys, I wish you
had been with me when I said 'Thank God, I have found you, Capt