y were embarking, he also jumped in
and stowed himself away in the sternsheets of Green's boat.

"Shove off, yer honour," he shouted out, "or they'll be coming down to
stop me."

Before the boats had got half a cable's length from the shore, the chief
discovered that his prime minister had disappeared, and, suspecting that
he had gone off with the white men, he and his tribe came rushing down
to the beach, shouting vociferously to him to come back.

"That same is more than I intend doing," cried Pat, from the bottom of
the boat.

The surf had by this time considerably gone down, and the sea was
sufficiently smooth to enable the boats to steer a direct course for
Santa Cruz; Green could, therefore, only hope that the ship might not
have left the harbour to look for them, as, in that case, they would in
all probability miss each other.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

JACK'S ANXIETY--SEARCH FOR THE BOATS--A WRECK DISCOVERED--THE MATE
BROUGHT OFF--MR LARGE ATTACKED BY SAVAGES--THE NATIVES PUNISHED--THE
BOATS RECOVERED--SYDNEY--THE SHIPS SAIL FOR THE SANDWICH ISLANDS--A
VISIT ON SHORE--VISIT HAWAII--SCENE OF COOK'S DEATH--TRIP TO THE CRATER
OF KILAUEA--MAGNIFICENT SCENE--TOM NEARLY LOST--RETURN ON BOARD--AGAIN
AT SEA--VANCOUVER'S ISLAND--DOINGS THERE--NEWS FROM HOME--JACK AND
TERENCE SUPERSEDED--REACH ENGLAND--FUTURE CAREER OF THE THREE
COMMANDERS--CONCLUSION.

Jack's anxiety became very great when, after the boats had gone away in
chase of the schooner, he saw the threatening state of the weather. He
waited for some time, expecting them to return, and then ordered the
steam to be got up, intending to go in search of them; the gale,
however, increasing, and night coming on, he had but slight hopes of
success. At length the engineer reported that the steam was up, and in
spite of the risk he ran, he stood out of the harbour, steering in the
direction he supposed they had taken. Scarcely had he got outside than
the weather became worse than ever. All night long the ship continued
standing backwards and forwards over the ground where he expected to
find the boats, while, as they happened at the time to be under the lee
of the burning mountain, he of course could not see them. At daylight
he steamed back into the harbour, hoping against hope that they might
have returned, but his fear was that though the natives had behaved well
in the presence of a big ship, they might conduct themselves very
differently should a coupl