nd telling her that she would soon see
the captain, hurried away. Before an hour was over she was clasped in
her father's arms. He had much to hear from her of her numerous trials
and difficulties, and she in return longed to learn more about his
adventures and the supposed wreck of the _Falcon_ than Peter had told
her. He confirmed in all points the account she had heard.

"It has always been supposed, I find, that my ship, the _Dolphin_, was
driven on shore during a hurricane in the Indian Ocean, and that all on
board had perished," continued Captain Flamank. "The report was brought
home as you know by another English ship, the _Chieftain_, which had
been in company with us. She herself narrowly escaped the outer end of
a reef, and was driven far away to the southward, and her master having
observed our perilous position, and not again falling in with us,
naturally concluded that we had been lost. This I have only lately
learned. We were truly in great danger, but happily, being carried
through an opening in the reef, were able to anchor in safety under the
lee of the land.

"We congratulated ourselves on our escape. Scarcely, however, had we
made sail after the gale was over, than we saw standing out of a bay, a
short distance off, which a lofty headland had concealed from us, a
large ship which we soon knew to be a French privateer. In vain we did
our utmost to escape, while we fired our stern guns in the hopes of
crippling her. She soon ranged up alongside, when, finding that further
resistance would be useless, with a sad heart I hauled down my flag. I
was at once transferred to the privateer with several of my men, and a
prize-crew was put on board the _Dolphin_, which sailed to the
northward. As I never heard of her again, I suspect that she went down
in a hurricane before she reached her destination. The privateer
cruised for some time in the southern part of the Indian Ocean, and
after taking another prize with a large amount of specie, which was of
course removed on board her, she one night was wrecked on a small rocky
island, of the existence of which no one appeared to be aware. I will
not describe the horrors which ensued. All discipline was lost, each
man, regardless of the rest, thinking only how he could secure his own
safety."

Captain Flamank then gave Jessie a full account of the occurrences of
which Peter had already told her.

"The years spent on that lone island, especially afte