them," he said, as they
returned on deck. "We should never be able to haul the sheets in when
the sails once fill."

Twenty men went aft with them and commenced the task. The fore-trysail
was bent to some of the mast-hoops, and the sheet fastened to a cavel on
the port side.

"Port your helm a little, my man," Wilkinson said. "That will do, just
enough to keep the wind on the starboard quarter. Keep her at that, keep
her at that." Edgar had the sail ready to hoist. "Slacken the tack a
little. Now, half a dozen of you tail on here, and get ready to haul it
down as soon as the sail is up to its full height and the halliards
secured. Now, lads, tail on to the halliards. Away with her."

The sailors ran forward with the rope, but as the sail rose the strain
was so great that once or twice they were brought to a standstill. At
last the boatswain shouted:

"That is enough. Come back a little, but keep a firm grip of it. That is
right!" he shouted, as he twisted the slack of the rope over the cleet.
"Now, lads, down with the tack; down with it! Belay!"

The main-trysail was hoisted as successfully. Small as were the sails,
and slight the angle with the wind, the pressure brought the ship down
nearly to her covering-board. Wilkinson and the boatswain took their
places by the wheel.

"Keep her full, lads, but not a bit more. She will do at that. By Jove,
Blagrove," he said, as Edgar came aft and glanced at the compass, "that
was a narrow squeak! If you hadn't noticed those native craft lower
their sails and called our attention to it, we should have turned turtle
as sure as fate. We have got her snug now. If we were right as to our
position at noon we shall clear those rocks nicely."

"I don't think we can have been far wrong, by the position of the
islands. At the same time I will go up to the foretop," Edgar said; "I
shall be able to make them out some distance away, for, if you remember,
two of them are thirty or forty feet above the water."

"Mind how you go," Wilkinson said. "You had better take one of the men
up with you; you can hold each other on then."

Edgar went forward and told one of the best of the hands to go aloft
with him.

"All right, your honour!"

"It will be a tight job, but I daresay we can do it. Get a couple of
lines seven or eight feet long; we will fasten them under our arms, and
if a puff comes harder than usual we can twist the end round a shroud or
ratline."

In a couple of minutes bo