ght which filled them with
the keenest anxiety; and Ned, thinking it possible that his friends
might at that moment be prisoners on board the vessel, was busying
himself in making preparations to open fire upon her, with the hope that
he might be able to dismast her and so frustrate her attempt to escape,
when his mind was set at rest by the sight of the punt pulling off to
him with Manners and Nicholls in her. Filling upon the ship and running
down toward the tiny craft, Ned and his companions soon had the
satisfaction of shaking hands with their two former shipmates, after
which came mutual hurried inquiries and explanations, in which, on the
part of the islanders, the adventures of the past night naturally
occupied an important place. To hear that the entire party were safe,
with the exception of a few comparatively trifling scratches, was a
great relief to the minds of the new arrivals, as also was the statement
that a capital harbour existed, into which the ship could be taken and
moored with perfect safety. For the mouth of the harbour the _Flying
Cloud_ was now headed, under Manners' pilotage, and half an hour later
she rounded-to and let go her anchor in mid-stream exactly opposite the
creek, to the unbounded astonishment and delight of Henderson and Gaunt,
the latter having rejoined the doctor just in time to witness the
arrival.

The halliards were let go and the sails rolled up as smartly as possible
by the four men on board; and then, the side-ladder being rigged for
Sibylla's accommodation, all hands descended to the punt, the paddles
were tossed out and the boat was headed for the beach.

The unbounded delight and exultation on all hands when at length a
general meeting took place at the fort must be left to the lively
imagination of the reader; an entire chapter would be needed for its
adequate portrayal, and time presses. Suffice it to say that there was
only one bitter drop in the cup of happiness quaffed by the party that
morning, and that was the sad loss of poor Captain Blyth, which Ned felt
with exceptional keenness, not only because it was wholly unexpected by
him, but also because he had, ever since making good his escape, been
looking forward with pleasurable anticipation to the moment when he
should be able to hand over the ship to her rightful commander.

The whole of that day was spent by the party in the interchange of a
full and detailed recital of the various events which had transpir