eef that led to the open sea. The distance
to be traversed was about four miles, and this the quaint-looking craft
covered in seventeen minutes by Leslie's watch, passing in an instant
from smooth water out on to a tumbling surface of sapphire-blue creaming
and foaming sea, with a long and rather formidable swell under-running
it. This was the sort of sea to find out for Leslie the weak points in
his structure, if it had any; and for the next half-hour--while
"carrying-on," and driving his craft full tilt against the sea under the
heavy pressure of her enormous unreefed sails--he watched his craft
carefully and anxiously, ready at the first sign of weakness to up-helm
and run back to the shelter of the lagoon. But no such sign revealed
itself; on the contrary, she not only stood up to her canvas "as stiff
as a house," but slid along over the high-running sea as buoyantly as an
empty cask, hanging to windward with a tenacity that filled her happy
owner with wonder; throwing a little spray over her weather bow
occasionally, it is true, but otherwise going along as dry as a bone.
Her speed, too, was truly astounding; had the poor old _Mermaid_ been
all ataunto and alongside her, the catamaran could have sailed round and
round her. At length, thoroughly satisfied with his trial, and fully
convinced of the absolute seaworthiness of his craft, Leslie tacked--the
catamaran working like a top, even in the heavy sea that was running--
and, putting up his helm, bore away back for the lagoon, reaching the
brig once more after an absence of about an hour and a half.

He found Flora awaiting him, attired in a good serviceable and
comfortably warm serge gown--for he had warned her that she would find
the strong breeze a trifle chill out at sea--and with the lunch-basket
packed and ready. It was the work of less than a minute to transfer her
and the basket from the deck of the brig to that of the catamaran, when,
leaving Sailor to take care of the former--much to his disgust--they
once more pushed off, and headed straight out for the passage skirting
the inner edge of the reef, and noting, as they slid rapidly along, that
this inner margin of the reef was simply teeming with fish. Then,
almost before they had time to realise it, they were in the open sea
once more, and heading away to the northward and westward with the
mainsheet eased off to its utmost limit, and the main-boom square out to
starboard. Leslie allowed himself an