ndavu. She kept well to the southwest until she
struck the southeast trades, when she swung around on her course,
headed straight for her destination. It was a pleasant voyage,
devoid of incident, and the health of all hands was excellent.
Mr. Gibney took daily observations, and was particular to make
daily entries in his log when he, Scraggs, and McGuffey were not
playing cribbage, a game of which all three were passionately
fond.

On the afternoon of the twenty-ninth day after leaving Panama the
lookout reported land. Through his glasses Mr. Gibney made out a
cluster of tall palms at the southerly end of the island, and as
the schooner held lazily on her course he could discern the
white breakers foaming over the reefs that guarded the entrance
to the harbour.

"That's Kandavu, all right," announced the commodore. "I was
there in '89 with Bull McGinty in the schooner _Dashin' Wave_.
There's the entrance to the harbour, with the Esk reefs to the
north and the Pearl reefs to the south. The channel's very
narrow--not more than three cables, if it's that, but there's
plenty of water and a good muddy bottom that'll hold. McGuffey,
lad, better run below and tune up your engines. It's too
dangerous a passage on an ebb-tide for a sailin' vessel, so we'll
run in under the power. Scraggsy, stand by and when I give the
word have your crew shorten sail."

Within a few minutes a long white streak opened up in the wake of
the schooner, announcing that McGuffey's engines were doing duty,
and a nice breeze springing up two points aft the beam, the
_Maggie_ heeled over and fairly flew through the water. Mr.
Gibney smiled an ecstatic smile as he took the wheel and guided
the schooner through the channel. He rounded her up in twelve
fathoms, and within five minutes every stitch of canvas was
clewed down hard and fast. The sun was setting as they dropped
anchor, and Mr. Gibney had lanterns hung along the rail so that
it would be impossible for any craft to approach the schooner and
board her without being seen. Also the watch on deck that night
carried Mauser rifles, six-shooters, and cutlasses. Mr. Gibney
was taking no chances.

CHAPTER XXII

"Now, boys," announced Commodore Gibney, as he sat at the head of
the officers' mess at breakfast next morning, "there'll be a lot
of canoes paddling off to visit us within the hour, so whatever
you do, don't allow more than two of these cannibals aboard the
schooner at the same t