ss to witness the killing of the seals, which they
appeared to be discussing with much interest.

A breeze springing up, we returned to the ship, and toward evening,
still steering northward, the floating island was lost to view.

We were now in better spirits than heretofore. We had filled our water
tanks from the ice floes, and supplied ourselves with sufficient fresh
seal meat to last until we came to a warmer climate, to begin again our
search for the Island of Gems. The men we had with us upon this voyage
were a better class than were the crew of the "Endraght", and we had no
fear of mutiny. There were grumblings occasionally at the length of
the voyage, but these vanished at each fresh adventure. Sailors, as a
rule, are easily led, and if there is no evil influence at work among
them they seldom incline to mutiny when they know that the safety of
all depends upon discipline and obedience to the captain's orders.

CHAPTER XIV

AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE

Most of the islands we visited on our return to the South Seas we found
to be inhabited. But some, although well-wooded, and possessing a
luxuriant vegetation, were unoccupied except by sea-fowl. It was toward
one of these islands we now directed our course in order to fill our
water tanks, when we observed a solitary figure upon the beach whose
hair and beard hung down in a tangled mass upon his chest and
shoulders, while the skins of some small fur-coated animal, roughly
sewn together, made him a covering for his body unlike any we had seen
adopted by savage tribes. His attitude, moreover, as he stood upon the
beach, shading his eyes and gazing intently at us as we rowed towards
the shore, suggested the European rather than, the savage, and upon
coming close up to him we knew him to be some castaway marooned upon
the island. He appeared to have lost the power of speech, although he
made guttural sounds when he saw us, and, what was more remarkable, he
seemed to recognize us.

It then came to me in a flash that this solitary man was none other
than Van Luck, whom we had last seen drifting away from the "Endraght"
upon his lonely voyage after the mutiny, and, in pity at the sight of
his forlorn condition, I held out my hand to him in reconciliation. So
great, however, was his hatred of me, which he had probably nursed,
that, instead of taking my hand, he rushed upon me and tried to
strangle me, in which he might have succeeded had not others of our
party com