ansport to some civilised port from
which it would be easy for them to obtain a passage to England, even
though the barque herself should not be homeward-bound. And that
transport would be at least of as safe a character as that afforded by
the cutter, while it would be infinitely more comfortable, at all events
for Flora, should they happen to encounter bad weather. Following this
train of thought, it seemed to Leslie that the obvious commonsense
course for him to pursue was to take the catamaran, go out to the
barque, and, acquainting the skipper with all the circumstances relating
to the presence of the little party upon the island, pilot her into the
lagoon, with the view of coming to some arrangement for the shipping of
himself and his companions on board her on the morrow.

But against this plan there was the thought of the treasure. What was
to be done with it? Would it be prudent or advisable to entrust a
property of such enormous value to a crew of absolute strangers, of
whose characters he would have no time or opportunity to judge? Upon
this point he had no doubt whatever; the answer to this question was a
most emphatic negative. But if--so ran his thoughts--he was not
prepared to ship the treasure aboard this unknown barque, and entrust it
to her unknown crew, what was he to do with it? Was he to leave it
concealed in the cavern that had already been its hiding-place for so
many years, and return to fetch it away at some more convenient season?
His recent experience of the great physical changes that may be wrought
by an earthquake shock had already impressed upon him a strong
conviction of the possibility that a second shock might at any moment
bury the treasure irrecoverably; and this conviction was as strong an
argument against the adoption of the alternative course as a man need
wish for. No; he felt that it would be equally unwise for him to ship
it aboard the stranger, and to leave it on the island until he could
return to fetch it. If he desired to make sure of it--as he most
certainly did--his proper course was to carry it away in the cutter, as
he had always intended. And as to Nicholls and Simpson, he felt that,
despite the appearance of this mysterious barque upon the scene, his
liberal offer to them would quite suffice to hold them to their bargain
with him. The ground thus cleared, there remained only Flora to be
considered; and Dick very quickly arrived at the conclusion that she,
an