s we pulled over, there was some discussion on the chart. The red cross
was, of course, far too large to be a guide; and the terms of the note on
the back, as you will hear, admitted of some ambiguity. They ran, the
reader may remember, thus:--

"Tall tree, Spy-glass Shoulder, bearing a point to the N. of N.N.E.

"Skeleton Island E.S.E. and by E.

"Ten feet."

A tall tree was thus the principal mark. Now, right before us, the
anchorage was bounded by a plateau from two to three hundred feet high,
adjoining on the north the sloping southern shoulder of the Spy-glass,
and rising again towards the south into the rough, cliffy eminence called
the Mizzen-mast Hill. The top of the plateau was dotted thickly with pine
trees of varying height. Every here and there, one of a different species
rose forty or fifty feet clear above its neighbours, and which of these
was the particular "tall tree" of Captain Flint could only be decided on
the spot, and by the readings of the compass.

Yet, although that was the case, every man on board the boats had picked
a favourite of his own ere we were half-way over, Long John alone
shrugging his shoulders and bidding them wait till they were there.

We pulled easily, by Silver's directions, not to weary the hands
prematurely; and, after quite a long passage, landed at the mouth of the
second river--that which runs down a woody cleft of the Spy-glass.
Thence, bending to our left, we began to ascend the slope towards the
plateau.

At the first outset, heavy, miry ground and a matted, marish vegetation,
greatly delayed our progress; but by little and little the hill began to
steepen and become stony under foot, and the wood to change its character
and to grow in a more open order. It was, indeed, a most pleasant portion
of the island that we were now approaching. A heavy-scented broom and
many flowering shrubs had almost taken the place of grass. Thickets of
green nutmeg trees were dotted here and there with the red columns and
the broad shadow of the pines; and the first mingled their spice with
the aroma of the others. The air, besides, was fresh and stirring, and
this, under the sheer sunbeams, was a wonderful refreshment to our
senses.

The party spread itself abroad, in a fan shape, shouting and leaping to
and fro. About the centre, and a good way behind the rest, Silver and I
followed--I tethered by my rope, he ploughing, with deep pants, among the
sliding gravel. From time t