orth they must not place
any dependence upon the hope of help from without. They all, therefore,
individually and collectively too, so far as they had opportunity, began
to plot and scheme; in the hope of being able to hit upon some plan
which might enable them to recover possession of the ship, going even to
the perilous length of sounding the least unpromising of the crew in the
hope of finding at least a few of them open to either persuasion or
bribery. But it was all of no avail. The men proved not only
unresponsive but suspicious; and they were also wholly unsuccessful in
their efforts to communicate with Captain Blyth, of whom they could not
get so much as a sight, much less speech with him.

"It is of no use for us to try any further," at last said Gaunt, when
talking matters over with the doctor. "We have tried our best, but
Williams is too acute and too strong for us. I have noticed a certain
something in his manner within the last day or two which tells me that
we are standing on very perilous ground, and we must drop the whole
affair before worse comes of it. We must not forget that the women and
children have only us to look to for protection in this awful strait; it
will never do for us to attempt anything which might result in their
being left to the tender mercies of those ruffians forward. The only
thing we can now hope for is a speedy and safe deliverance from their
clutches by being landed somewhere; and we must pray that they will be
induced to land us on some spot where we may not only be able to make
ourselves safe, but also to secure the means of living."

Meanwhile the ship passed safely through the Straits of Sunda, along the
south coast of Borneo, and so into the Java and Flores Seas; Williams
maintaining a ceaseless and anxious watch upon Ned as the lad daily
pricked off upon the chart the position of the ship, and frequently
altering the course with the evident object of inspecting certain
islands, probably to ascertain whether they were suitable for landing
his unwelcome guests upon. Several islands were visited, but none of
them proved satisfactory. Some were found to be inhabited by savages,
whose demonstrations at sight of the ship were so unmistakably hostile
that it would have been obviously only murder thinly disguised to have
landed any white person there, whilst others seemed deficient in the
means of sustaining life. Wandering thus about the ocean a fortnight
passed away,