On the particular morning before referred to it chanced to be my turn to
make the journey up the mountain; therefore, taking the telescope in its
case from the rock projection in the cavern which was its recognised
resting-place, and bidding my companions au revoir, I started out on my
three-and-a-half mile walk to the summit, while the others hurried down
to the beach, and, getting aboard the catamaran, made sail for
South-west Bay, where our shipyard was situated.

Now the whole distance from our cavern to the summit of the crater was
uphill, and the day, in addition to being brilliantly fine, was
excessively hot, for the Trade wind had softened down on the preceding
day, and was now blowing only a very moderate breeze; therefore I did
not greatly hurry myself, for my way lay, practically for the whole
distance to the foot of the crater, through jungle, where, although I
was sheltered to a great extent from the rays of the sun, I was also
shielded from the wind, and before I had travelled a mile I was
perspiring profusely. But, hot as it was while walking through the
jungle, it was hotter still when at length I emerged from its shelter
upon the bare hillside; and I had no sooner climbed above the level of
the vegetation, and was able to look over the top of it, than I flung
myself down upon a big block of lava, took off my hat, and proceeded to
wipe away the perspiration which was by this time streaming down my
forehead into my eyes and half-blinding me. And it was while I was thus
engaged that I happened to allow my gaze to wander away out over the
surface of the water in a south-westerly direction; and then I saw a
sight which caused me to spring to my feet with a smothered exclamation.
For, far out upon the sun-flecked blue of the gently ruffled ocean, I
caught a glimpse of first one and then another and another small dark
dot, each of which emitted frequent sparkling flashes which I instantly
identified as the sunlight striking upon the wet blades of swiftly
wielded paddles. With anxious haste I gripped the telescope case, swung
it round, withdrew the telescope, raised it to my eyes, and focused it;
and there, magnified into unmistakable distinctness by the powerful
lenses, I saw no less than ten canoes paddling straight for our island,
and only some eight miles distant from West Point, as we had named the
headland which projected into the ocean between North and South-west
Bays. They were head-on to me, theref