t must be Nassau ahead of us."

"Yes; that is Nassau. I expected to get here earlier in the morning than
this, and I am not a little afraid to sail into the harbor at seven
o'clock in the morning, as it will be before we can get there. The wind
died out in the middle of the night, though I got it again very early
this morning. I must get to the town in some other way. The land on the
port is Rose Island, and Douglas Channel is just this side of it. I am
going through that, and shall make my way to the back side of the
island, where we can conceal the boat."

"I should say that would be a good idea," added Christy, as he took in
the plan. "The water is as clear as crystal here, and you can see the
bottom as plainly as though nothing came between your eye and the rock."

The skipper stationed his companion on the bow of the boat to watch for
rocks; but none interfered with the progress of the Eleuthera. She
sailed to the back side of the island of New Providence, where they
found a secluded nook, in which they moored the craft.

CHAPTER XVII

THE LANDING AT NEW PROVIDENCE

The water was so clear that the bottom could be seen at all times, the
white coral rock greatly assisting the transparency. From Douglas
Channel, through which the boat had passed, the chart indicated that it
was twenty miles to the point where the skipper desired to land, and it
was nearly eleven o'clock when the Eleuthera ran into the little bay,
extending over a mile into the island, and nearly landlocked. The shore
was covered with tropical vegetation, including cocoa-nut palms, loaded
with fruit, with palmettoes, wild palms, and many plants of which
Christy did not even know the names.

"We could not have anything better than this," said Mr. Gilfleur, as he
ran the boat into a tangle of mangroves and other plants.

"This bay appears to be about five miles from the town of Nassau, and I
should say that no person is likely to see the boat if it should stay
here for a month," replied Christy, as he measured the distance across
the island with the scale his companion had prepared.

"It will not take us long to walk that distance. There are all sorts of
people in Nassau at the present time, as there were in St. George's and
Hamilton; and we shall pass without exciting any particular attention."

"I think we had better look out for a cleaner place to land than this,
for the mud seems to be about knee-deep," suggested Christy, as he
tes