e start," said Van der
Kemp, observing that Nigel was examining the contrivance with some
curiosity. "It's an apron to tie round you in bad weather to keep the
water out. In fine weather it is rolled as you see it now round the
ledge. Undo the buckle before and behind and you will see how it is to
be used."

Acting as directed, Nigel unbuckled the roll and found that he was
surrounded by a sort of petticoat of oil-skin which could be drawn up
and buckled round his chest. In this position it could be kept by a
loop attached to a button, or a wooden pin, thrust through the coat.

"You see," explained the hermit, "the waves may wash all over our deck
and round our bodies without being able to get into the canoe while we
have these things on--there are similar protections round the other
holes."

"I understand," said Nigel. "But how if water gets in through a leak
below?"

"Do you see that brass thing in front of you?" returned the hermit.
"That is a pump which is capable of keeping under a pretty extensive
leak. The handle unships, so as to be out of the way when not wanted.
I keep it here, under the deck in front of me, along with mast and sails
and a good many other things."

As he spoke he raised a plank of the deck in front of the foremost hole,
and disclosed a sort of narrow box about six feet long by six inches
broad. The plank was hinged at one end and fastened with a hook at the
other so as to form a lid to the box. The hole thus disclosed was not
an opening into the interior of the canoe, but was a veritable
watertight box just under the deck, so that even if it were to get
filled with water not a drop could enter the canoe itself. But the
plank-lid was so beautifully fitted, besides shutting tightly down on
india-rubber, that the chance of leakage through that source was very
remote. Although very narrow, this box was deep, and contained a
variety of useful implements; among them a slender mast and tiny sail,
which could be rendered still smaller by means of reef-points. All
these things were fitted into their respective places with so keen an
eye to economy of space that the arrangement cannot be better described
than by the familiar phrase--_multum in parvo_.

"We don't use the sails much; we depend chiefly on this," said the
hermit, as he seated himself in the front hole and laid the long, heavy,
double-bladed paddle on the saddle in front of him. "Moses uses a
single-blade, partly because