s
and sea. Impelled by the occasion and the charm of the night he waxed
sentimental, and with a strange mixture of bluffness and shyness spoke of
his aged mother, of the loneliness of a seafarer's life, and the
inestimable boon of real friendship. He bared his inmost soul to his
sympathetic listener, and then, affecting to think from a remark of Mr.
Chalk's that he was going to relate the secret of the voyage, declined to
hear it on the ground that he was only a rough sailorman and not to be
trusted. Mr. Chalk, contesting this hotly, convinced him at last that he
was in error, and then found that, bewildered by the argument, the
captain had consented to be informed of a secret which he had not
intended to impart.

"But, mind," said Brisket, holding up a warning finger, "I'm not going
to tell Peter Duckett. There's no need for him to know."

Mr. Chalk said "Certainly not," and, seeing no way for escape, led the
reluctant man as far from the helmsman as possible and whispered the
information. By the time they parted for the night Captain Brisket knew
as much as the members of the expedition themselves, and, with a rare
thoughtfulness, quieted Mr. Chalk's conscience by telling him that he had
practically guessed the whole affair from the beginning.

[Illustration: "He led the reluctant man as far from the helmsman as
possible and whispered the information."]

He listened with great interest a few days later when Mr. Tredgold, after
considering audibly which island he should visit first, gave him the
position of Bowers's Island and began to discuss coral reefs and volcanic
action. They were now well in among the islands. Two they passed at a
distance, and went so close to a third--a mere reef with a few palms upon
it--that Mr. Chalk, after a lengthy inspection through his binoculars,
was able to declare it uninhabited.

A fourth came into sight a couple of days later: a small grey bank on the
starboard bow. Captain Brisket, who had been regarding it for some time
with great care, closed his glass with a bang and stepped up to Mr.
Tredgold.

"There she is, sir," he said, in satisfied tones.

Mr. Tredgold, who was drinking tea, put down his cup, and rose with an
appearance of mild interest. Mr. Stobell followed suit, and both gazed
in strong indignation at the undisguised excitement of Mr. Chalk as he
raced up the rigging for a better view. Tredgold with the captain's
glass, and Stobell with an old pair of