ut they've got him, for all that. There's our greatest
safeguard."

As the mate spoke, he pointed to Inez, who, at that moment, came
bounding up the steps of the cabin and ran laughing forward.

"Pomp thinks all the world of her, and she will be the peacemaker,
perhaps."

"But don't they like her as well?"

"No; they wouldn't hesitate any more over killing her than they would
in killing us."

"The villains!" muttered the horrified captain. "I never conceived it
possible that any human being could fail to love such beauty and
innocence as hers."

"There is no immediate danger," said the mate, somewhat surprised to
observe how completely the discovery had taken possession of the mind
of the captain. "Let's give our attention now to the business upon
which we came, and there will be time enough to think of the other
matter between now and nightfall."

Captain Bergen was sorely perplexed, but the circumstances were such
that he was able to follow the suggestion of his faithful mate. They
were now close to the island, which was of that singular formation so
frequently seen in the Pacific. Countless millions of tiny insects,
toiling through many years, had gradually lifted the foundations of
coral from the depths of the ocean, until the mass, in the form of a
gigantic ring or horse-shoe, was above the surface. Upon this had
gradually gathered sand, seeds and vegetable matter, in the usual way,
until beneath the tropical sun and the balmy climate the "desert
blossomed like the rose." This took a long while, but the process it
went through was similar to that of hundreds of much larger islands
which to-day rest like nosegays upon the bosom of the vast Pacific.

Among these fruits were the banana, plantain, breadfruit, and a sort
of mango, found in Farther India, and which, at first disliked,
becomes in time a great favorite with every one. Most singular of all
was the fact that at two widely-separated points burst forth a spring
of clear, fresh water.

One might well wonder where the supply for this came from, since the
whole island had its foundation in salt water--but there are many
strange distillations going on at all times in nature's laboratory
beyond the power of man to fathom.

These were probably stored away in some of the hidden vaults of the
island, and bubbled forth, the fountain being renewed before the
precious contents were exhausted.

The entrance to the interior was through a deep passage, toward