ight, and be a fair wind for us."

Thus it proved; the force of the land breeze rapidly declined, until, in
the course of half an hour, the boat scarcely retained steerage way.
But during that half-hour she had progressed about two miles up the
bight, while Dick had hugged the eastern shore of the island of Baru as
closely as the depth of water would permit; and when at length the wind
failed he took advantage of its last expiring breath to run the boat in
behind a small rocky, tree-crowned bluff, where she was not only
completely hidden from sight, but where her crew enjoyed the further
advantage of being sheltered from the too ardent rays of the sun. Here,
having lowered their sails and moored the boat to a rock, they
breakfasted comfortably and at their leisure upon fish caught during
their progress up the bight, and which they broiled over a fire kindled
by means of a pocket lens which Marshall made a point of carrying with
him constantly. The Captain was also pretty nearly correct in his
estimate of the duration of the calm, for they had little more than
finished their meal when the first cat's-paws heralding the approach of
the sea breeze were seen playing here and there upon the surface of the
water, and five minutes later the wind was roaring with the strength of
half a gale over the top of the island, and whipping the surface of the
bight into small, choppy, foam-capped seas. Of this fine breeze they at
once took advantage by casting off from the rock and hoisting their
canvas, when away they went bowling merrily up the bight, at the head of
which they arrived about an hour and a half later.

The shape of the bight proved to be, roughly speaking, triangular,
measuring about twelve miles long by about four miles wide at its
entrance, narrowing at its upper end to a channel about twelve hundred
feet wide, separating Baru from the mainland. They passed through this
channel before they fully realised where they were going, and upon
issuing from its northern extremity suddenly found themselves in a broad
sheet of water some eight miles long by about half that width--Cartagena
harbour, without a doubt! That would never do, at least in broad
daylight; therefore, hastily putting the boat about, they ran back into
the channel which they had just quitted, and beached the boat upon the
shore of Baru, where, leaving the craft in charge of the three men,
Marshall and Dick landed to reconnoitre. The part of the island