nd who, by their clothes, I have no doubt were
the crew of the _Emu_."

The information that there were probably no savage inhabitants, or any
pirates alive, to injure us, were satisfactory, though we could not help
feeling a horror at the fate of those cut off in the midst of their
career of crime. We had now to consider what was to be done. The junk,
after having been forced over the reef, had, what seamen call, fetched
headway again, and had been driven stem first up a gulf or narrow bay,
one side of which completely protected her from the sea, so that she lay
as secure as in a dock. As the sun rose, the gale also abated; and I
considered that there would be no danger in leaving Eva and the little
black girl on board, while the rest of us went farther to explore the
country. We had found an abundance of provisions in the junk, so that
we had no fear of starving, even should fruits not be discovered in the
island, to support us till we could get away. How to get away was the
question. The obvious means was by building a boat; but we could find
no tools, and we were obliged to confess that our skill was inadequate
to the work. Hassan and Kalong, however, asserted that they would be
able, in time, to construct a large canoe. Our first excursion was to
the wreck, which we found we could reach by wading at low tide along the
top of the reef. On further examination, not a doubt remained on our
minds that she was the _Emu_; and Eva, when she saw her, confirmed our
opinion by recognising some of the cabin furniture, which had been
washed out of her. We now set out to explore the woods. We had not got
far when I came upon the body of a man, or rather a skeleton, covered
with clothes. A few paces on was another; and not far-off we found a
rude hut, with a blackened spot, where a fire had been lit before it.
In the hut were two more bodies, and we afterwards found several more,
but there was neither food nor water near them. There could be no doubt
that they were the remnant of the pirate crew, whom at length
retributive justice had overtaken. The rest were probably drowned and
washed out to sea. How the catastrophe had occurred, the shattered
wreck and those ghastly remains could alone tell us. At midnight,
perhaps, during the raging of a storm, amid thunder and lightning,
without hope of succour, the blood-stained pirates had met their just
doom. We dragged them to a hole we found near at hand, and covered the