omb's talk, especially, of
cloudless skies of richest blue, out of which the sun darted his flaming
rays by day, and in which the stars blazed like jewels at night; of
tranquil seas of sapphire in which creatures of strange forms and
brilliant hues disported themselves; of tropic shores, coral fringed and
clothed with graceful feathery palms backed by noble forest trees of
precious woods, made glorious by flowers of every conceivable hue and
shape, amid which hovered birds of such gorgeous plumage that they
gleamed and shone in the sun like living gems; of rich and luscious
fruits to be had for the mere trouble of plucking; of fireflies
spangling the velvet darkness with their fairy lamps; and of the gentle
Indians who--at least when not brought under the malign influence of the
cruel Spaniard--regarded white men as gods; all these appealed with
singular force and fascination to Stukely, who sat listening
breathlessly and with glowing eyes to everything that the two sailors
said about these wonders.

For, singularly enough, although the man had never until now been out of
sight of English soil, and although he had never read about them, all
these things seemed strangely familiar to him. Times without number, as
he had sat meditating over the fire on a winter's night, or had sprawled
among the hay or upon the sandy beach on a summer evening, had visions
of just such lands and just such enchanting scenes as Marshall and
Bascomb described come floating to him like vague and distant but
cherished memories.

He awoke, as from a delightful dream, when, the meal being finished,
Marshall arose from his chair and invited his guests to accompany him
out on deck. It was quite dark when they emerged from the cabin; so
dark indeed that for a moment, their eyes being still dazzled by the
bright light of the cabin lamp, they groped their way like blind men,
and were fain to stand still, clinging to whatsoever their hands
happened to find. Then, their sight coming to them again, they followed
Marshall up the poop ladder, and stood, staring out upon a night of
blusterous wind and faintly phosphorescent, foam-capped sea; of flying
clouds amid which the stars twinkled mistily and vanished, to re-appear
presently with the tall spars and swelling canvas of the ship swaying
dizzily and black among them; a night full of unaccustomed sounds of
creaking and groaning timbers, of the splashing and roaring of water
under the ship's bows, alon