earance; and it was some time before they could overcome their dread
of approaching the strangers with the firearms; but, encouraged by the
three who were with them, they came up, and a general song and dance was
commenced. Their singing was not confined to one air; they gave three.

"Of those who came last, three were remarkable for the largeness of their
heads, and one, whose face was very rough, had much more the appearance
of a baboon than of a human being. He was covered with oily soot; his
hair matted with filth; his visage, even among his fellows, uncommonly
ferocious; and his very large mouth, beset with teeth of every hue
between black, white, green and yellow, sometimes presented a smile which
might make anyone shudder."

The Norfolk remained fifteen days in Moreton Bay. The judgment that
Flinders formed of it was that it was "so full of shoals that he could
not attempt to point out any passage that would lead a ship into it
without danger." The east side was not sounded, and he was of opinion
that if a good navigable channel existed it would be found there. His
visit to Hervey Bay, further north, did not lead to any interesting
observations. He left there on his return voyage on August 7th, and
reached Port Jackson at dusk on the 20th.

CHAPTER 12. THE INVESTIGATOR.

Flinders sailed from Port Jackson for England in the Reliance on March
3rd, 1800. The old ship was in such a bad condition that Governor Hunter
"judged it proper to order her home while she may be capable of
performing the voyage." She carried despatches, which Captain Waterhouse
was directed to throw overboard in the event of meeting with an enemy's
ship of superior force and being unable to effect his escape. She lived
through a tempestuous voyage, making nine or ten inches of water per
hour, according to the carpenter's report, and providing plenty of
pumping exercise for a couple of convict stowaways who emerged from
hiding two days out of Sydney. At St. Helena, reached at the end of May,
company was joined with four East India ships, and off Ireland H.M.S.
Cerberus took charge of the convoy till the arrival at Portsmouth on
August 26th.

When Flinders left England six years before, he was a midshipman. He
passed the examination qualifying him to become lieutenant at the Cape of
Good Hope in 1797, and was appointed provisionally to that rank on the
return of the Reliance to Sydney from the South African voyage in that
year. The prompt