we could have no difficulty in reaching the shore.

We again shouted to Ben and Jose, but no reply came; and fearing that
they must have been lost, we gave up calling to them and sat down.

The wind fell soon afterwards, and wet through as we were, by sheltering
ourselves in a crevice of the rock we did not suffer much from the cold.
After waiting for some time, we found that the tide was ebbing.

"If we wait till the morning we shall have high-water again; and in my
opinion we shall be wise to try and get on shore at once," said Boxall.

Halliday and I agreed with him; for, our strength being restored, we
were anxious to find ourselves safe on dry ground. We could not,
however, fail to grieve for the loss of Ben, who had been so faithful to
us; and also for his companion, Jose, who seemed a truly honest fellow.

"Now," said Boxall, "let us start."

"We are ready," answered Halliday; and he and I following Boxall's
example by slipping off the rock, found ourselves in water scarcely up
to our middle and once more began to wade towards the shore.

CHAPTER SIX.

A DECEPTIVE COAST--WHAT IS IT?--OUR DISAPPOINTMENT--A STRANGE
APPARITION.

An attempt to cross an unknown expanse of water, such as seemed the
lagoon stretching out before us, was a hazardous experiment. Still, the
water was calm, and we concluded that it was shallow, so that we hoped
by perseverance to gain the dry land at last. There was no time to be
lost, however, as the tide might soon rise again, and make the
undertaking more difficult. I felt like a person in a dream as we waded
on, surrounded on all sides by water, over which hung a peculiar silvery
mist, curiously deceiving the senses,--though perhaps I was not aware of
it at the time. The appearance of the shore even seemed changed. It
looked altogether very different from what we expected to find it.
Instead of a low sandy beach, with here and there hillocks of sand, it
appeared to rise to a considerable height, with hills and intervening
valleys, and lofty rocks springing directly out of the water. "We must
have been further to the south than we supposed," I observed to Boxall.
"Surely we must be near the French settlements. The shore before us
cannot be on the border of the great Desert of Sahara."

"I cannot make it out," he answered. "Still I am pretty certain as to
our latitude. The country, however, is but little known, and we may
have been thrown on a more fertile region t