k out of
the wreck, who was before almost dead of hunger and wounds. There seems
now but little life in him of any sort All I can make out about the
vessel is, that she is the _Expert_, of Sydney; and from the look of her
hold, I should think that she had a number of slaves on board, though
what has become of them is more than I can tell."

No time was lost by the surgeon in looking after the wounded men; his
great aim was to neutralise the effects of the poison. The man taken
from the wreck, notwithstanding Mr Large's report, recovered
considerably, and was able in a faint voice to answer the questions put
to him. He said he was mate of the vessel; that she was wrecked the
previous night, when the master and several of the hands had been washed
overboard; that the passengers had broken loose and made their way to
the shore, where, however, they had been attacked by the natives, who,
to the best of his belief, had killed or captured every one of them.

"Then what became of the rest of the crew?" asked Jack.

The mate said he thought it possible that they had got away in the boat
with the doctor and second mate, during the night when there happened to
be a lull, but of this he was uncertain. He confessed that the vessel
had been boarded by two man-of-war's boats, but the officer in command,
finding nothing to detain her, had allowed the schooner to proceed;
while they, he concluded, had returned from whence they came. Mr
Large, who was present at the examination of the mate, thought it just
possible that the boat might have left the wreck, and if so, that she
was in all probability driven on shore, when those in her must have
shared the fate of the so-called passengers. Mr Large, however,
volunteered to go on shore to try and ascertain what had really become
of the people. The ship was by this time about half a mile from the
beach, so that through a glass everything going forward on shore could
be seen.

Soon after the boat had shoved off, a considerable body of natives
issued from among the trees, and stood gazing at her and at the ship.
They were all armed with clubs and spears and bows and arrows, but, as
they did not by their gestures show any hostile intentions, the boat
continued her course; the boatswain still hoping, apparently, to
establish friendly relations with them. As there was little or no surf,
the boat ran on to the beach; Mr Large stepped on shore, waving a white
flag in his hand, and holdin