d it required the greatest care in taking
in the vessel, as, on the present occasion, Hawkhurst could not be
called upon for this service. The islands themselves--for there were
several of them--were composed of coral rock; a few cocoa trees raised
their lofty heads where there was sufficient earth for vegetation, and
stunted brushwood rose up between the interstices of the rocks. But the
chief peculiarity of the islands, and which rendered them suitable to
those who frequented them, was the numerous caves with which the rocks
were perforated, some above high-water mark, but the majority with the
sea-water flowing in and out of them, in some cases merely rushing in,
and at high water filling deep pools, which were detached from each
other when the tide receded, in others with a sufficient depth of water
at all times to allow you to pull in with a large boat. It is hardly
necessary to observe how convenient the higher and dry caves were as
receptacles for articles which were intended to be concealed until an
opportunity occurred for disposing of them.

In our last chapter we stated that, just as the _Avenger_ had entered
the passage through the reefs, the _Comus_ and _Enterprise_ hove in
sight and discovered her; but it will be necessary to explain the
positions of the vessels. The _Avenger_ had entered the southern
channel, with the wind from the southward, and had carefully sounded her
way for about four miles, under little or no sail.

The _Enterprise_ and _Comus_ had been examining Turk's Island, to the
eastward of the Caicos, and had passed to the northward of it on the
larboard tack, standing in for the northern point of the reef, which
joined on to the great Caicos Island. They were, therefore, in a
situation to intercept the _Avenger_ before she arrived at her
anchorage, had it not been for the reefs which barred their passage. The
only plan which the English vessels could act upon was to beat to the
southward, so as to arrive at the entrance of the passage, when the
_Enterprise_ would, of course, find sufficient water to follow the
_Avenger_; for, as the passage was too narrow to beat through, and the
wind was from the southward, the _Avenger_ could not possibly escape.
She was caught in a trap; and all that she had to trust to was the
defence which she might be able to make in her stronghold against the
force which could be employed in the attack. The breeze was fresh from
the southward, and appeared inclined