as thick as it was when it first came down
upon us we should have gone right into it before we saw it."

The boat was turned and rowed out to sea for some distance, then they
again headed her in the direction in which they wished to go, but
keeping the guns well in shore of them until they judged by the sound
that they were nearly opposite to her, then they rowed straight towards
her. The sound of their oars was heard, and a loud hail informed them of
the exact position of the ship, and two or three minutes later a dark
image loomed up in front of the boat.

"All well, Mr. Ryan?" the captain shouted.

"All well, sir."

"You have given us a great fright," the captain went on. "We expected
you back at least two hours ago, thinking of course you would have
returned when the fog set in, even if you had not done so before."

"We had turned, sir, before the fog rolled in; but what with losing our
way, and the difficulty of keeping our course in the fog, and the fact
that there is, we think, a strong current that was running against us
further out, we have been a long time coming back. So, you see, we have
double banked all the oars."

By this time they were lying by the gangway. It was found that the girls
in spite of their wraps were so stiff with the cold that they had to be
assisted up the gangway to the deck. Exercise warmed the blood of the
rest, and they were soon on deck. Mr. Atherton, who alone of the men
had not been rowing, had some little difficulty in getting up, although,
as he said, he had no more right to feel cold than a walrus, protected
as he was by nature.

There had been much anxiety on board until the shots fired by Mr.
Atherton were heard. The captain had ordered plenty of hot soup to be
got ready, and the girls soon felt in a comfortable glow. Mr. Atherton
gave a comical account of their adventures, but he did not conceal the
fact that at one time their position had been really a perilous one, and
that if they had not been pretty vigilant they might have fallen into
the hands of the natives.

"Well, all is well that ends well," Mr. Renshaw said, "but I think we
will have no more boat excursions as long as we are in the neighbourhood
of cannibals. Of course no one could have foreseen the fog coming on so
suddenly, but you have evidently all had a narrow escape."

Those who had taken part in the adventure, however, were highly pleased
with their share in it, and agreed that although perhaps at t