eing sent off.

"That must depend on the commander," answered Lieutenant Foley. "If he
will give you leave, I will gladly take you, as I can depend thoroughly
on you; but I suspect that he will prefer sending Crowhurst. However,
we have some weeks to wait, and many things may occur in the mean time."

"Thank you, sir, for your kindness," answered Gerald, highly pleased at
the compliment paid him, and thinking nothing of the danger to be run
during a voyage of some hundred miles in an open boat, with a chance of
being picked up by an enemy's cruiser, or by one of the piratical craft
which were known to infest those seas. Gerald was not given to
boasting, but he confided to Nat Kiddle the promise Mr Foley had made
him.

"I wonder whether he would take me too," said Nat. "I should not like
to be left here without you. I should wonderfully enjoy the trip. What
fun it would be if we were chased, and managed, notwithstanding, to get
away!"

"It would be no fun if we were caught, however," answered Gerald; "but I
hope that won't happen. Depend on it, Mr Foley will do his best to
keep clear of an enemy."

Still some weeks had to be passed before the commander would consent to
send off a boat, while not a vessel appeared in sight. The weather had
remained fine for some time, but at length it gave signs of changing.
One evening, as the commander, with several of the officers, were taking
a quarter-deck walk on a piece of level ground near the flagstaff,
occasionally sweeping the horizon with their glasses, now to the
eastward, and now on the west side of the island, the commander, who had
turned his in the latter direction, exclaimed, "There is a sail at last.
Judging from her appearance she is a large craft; we shall soon
ascertain how she is standing."

The other glasses were turned towards the stranger, and in a few minutes
the general opinion was that she was approaching the island. The wind
was blowing pretty fresh from the south-west. Her topgallantsails had
been above the horizon when she was first seen; gradually her topsails,
then the heads of her courses, rose above the water. "Is she a friend
or an enemy?" was the question asked by several of those watching her.
Hopes, of course, were entertained that she might be the former. Gerald
and Nat Kiddle thought that she must be a British man-of-war.

"See what a wide spread of canvas she has," observed Gerald; "no
merchant vessel would carry sails like th