of the sea. But happily his fears were
not realised, and an hour and a half after they set out--all that time
had been taken up in going a distance of three miles--the boat touched
the beach below Granite House.

Canoe and chest were then hauled up on the sand, and as the tide was
then going out, they were soon left high and dry. Neb, hurrying home,
brought back some tools with which to open the chest in such a way
that it might be injured as little as possible, and they proceeded to
its inventory. Pencroft did not try to hide that he was greatly
excited.

The sailor began by detaching the two barrels, which, being in good
condition, would of course be of use. Then the locks were forced with
a cold chisel and hammer, and the lid thrown back. A second casing of
zinc lined the interior of the chest, which had been evidently
arranged that the articles which it enclosed might under any
circumstances be sheltered from damp.

"Oh!" cried Neb, "suppose it's jam!".

[Illustration: UNPACKING THE MARVELLOUS CHEST]

"I hope not," replied the reporter.

"If only there was--" said the sailor in a low voice.

"What?" asked Neb, who overheard him.

"Nothing!"

The covering of zinc was torn off and thrown back over the sides of
the chest, and by degrees numerous articles of very varied character
were produced and strewn about on the sand. At each new object
Pencroft uttered fresh hurrahs, Herbert clapped his hands, and Neb
danced--like a nigger. There were books which made Herbert wild with
joy, and cooking utensils which Neb covered with kisses!

In short, the colonists had reason to be extremely satisfied, for this
chest contained tools, weapons, instruments, clothes, books; and this
is the exact list of them as stated in Gideon Spilett's note-book:--

Tools:--3 knives with several blades, 2 woodmen's axes, 2 carpenter's
hatchets, 3 planes, 2 adzes, 1 twibil or mattock, 6 chisels, 2 files,
3 hammers, 3 gimlets, 2 augers, 10 bags of nails and screws, 3 saws of
different sizes, 2 boxes of needles.

Weapons:--2 flint-lock guns, 2 for percussion caps, 2 breech-loader
carbines, 5 boarding cutlasses, 4 sabres, 2 barrels of powder, each
containing twenty-five pounds; 12 boxes of percussion caps.

Instruments:--1 sextant, 1 double opera-glass, 1 telescope, 1 box of
mathematical instruments, 1 mariner's compass, 1 Fahrenheit
thermometer, 1 aneroid barometer, 1 box containing a photographic
apparatus, object-glass, plates, che