which vivid
lightning flashed for a space, until, having emptied itself of
electricity, the cloud-pall passed away, leaving the island refreshed by
the shower that had accompanied the storm, gradually to change from soft
blue to a vivid green as the _Adventure_, with widespread pinions,
rushed toward it before the favouring breeze. And with the cry of the
lookout the ship at once awoke to joyous life; the watch below, ay, and
even the sick, sprang from their hammocks and rushed--or crawled, as the
case might be--on deck to feast their eyes once more upon the sight of a
bit of solid earth, green with verdure, and promising all manner of
delights to those who had been pent up for so long between wooden
bulwarks, and whose eyes had for so many weary days gazed upon naught
but sea and sky. It is true that Stukely had never tired of gazing upon
that same sea and sky; with the spirit of the artist that dwelt within
him he had been able to see ever-changing beauty where others had beheld
only monotony; but to the crew at large that wedge of land, growing in
bulk and importance as the ship rushed toward it, was more beautiful
than the most glorious sunset that had ever presented itself to their
wondering eyes.

"What island is that?" demanded Stukely of the master, who was standing
halfway up the poop ladder, gazing at the distant land under the foot of
the foresail.

"It should be Barbados, unless I am a long way out of my reckoning. But
there is no fear of that; besides, I know the look and shape of the
place; I have been there before; and it was just so that it looked when
I got my last glimpse of it. Yes, that is Barbados; and, please God, we
shall all sleep ashore to-night. There is good, safe anchorage round on
the other side of that low point, with a snug creek into which the ship,
with but a little lightening, may be taken and careened. I pray that
there may be no Spaniards there, for there is no better place on God's
good earth for landing and recruiting a scurvy-ridden crew."

"Are there any Indians on the island?" asked Stukely.

"There may be; I cannot say; but I never saw any," answered Bascomb.
"And if there be," he continued, "they are not likely to interfere with
us. Such Indians as I have met have ever been very shy of showing
themselves to the whites, and always keep out of their way, if they can.
That is to say, they do so among the islands. On the Main, where they
have been cruelly ill-treated a