The proa was arranged as comfortably as possible, Inez Hawthorne being
given a place in front, where a sort of compartment was made for her,
by means of stretching awnings of cocoa-matting and a portion of the
reserve fund of lateen on hand. The others disposed themselves so that
she was left undisturbed whenever she chose to withdraw to her "state
room," as Captain Fred Sanders facetiously termed it.

The two natives had little to say, and they obeyed orders like the
veritable slaves they were. There could be no doubt they understood
the management of the proa to perfection, and the strange craft spun
through the water with astonishing speed.

Mr. Storms deposited his valise, with its valuable contents, forward,
where he seemed to bestow little attention on it, though, as may well
be supposed, it was ever present in his thoughts, and quite often in
his eye.

Several times in the course of the day they caught sight of sails in
the distance, but approached none; for, as Sanders said, the
all-important thing now was to make the most speed possible, while the
opportunity remained to them. There was a freshening of the breeze and
a haziness which spread through the northern horizon that caused some
misgiving on the part of all, for the proa would be a poor shelter in
case they were overtaken by one of those terrific tempests they had
seen more than once.

Toward the middle of the afternoon something like a low bank of clouds
appeared to the left, or in the west, which, being scrutinized through
the glasses, proved to be a low-lying island. Sanders knew of it, and
said they passed it still closer on their way to the atoll.

It was also an atoll like that, but much smaller in size, and, of
course, uninhabited. It might do for a refuge in case of the coming of
a violent storm, while in the vicinity; but otherwise it would only
be a loss of time to pause at it. The fact that such a place existed
so near them caused something like a feeling of security upon the part
of Mate Storms, such as comes over one on learning he has a good
friend at his elbow in face of some coming trouble.

As the afternoon advanced, and the proa bounded forward before a
strong, steady breeze, Storms thought the occasion a good one to
obtain some sleep, with a view of keeping awake during the coming
night, and he assumed an easy position, where, his mind being
comparatively free from apprehension, he soon sank into slumber.

This left Inez Hawtho