ts width, as far as they could judge, was now scarcely fifty yards
across. They waited on, knowing that, should the tide rise high, a
single wave might sweep them all off. Mike proposed getting into the
boat, there to await their fate.

"She would not live ten minutes with such a sea running outside.
Without oars to steer her, we should be worse off than we are now,"
answered Bill Pratt.

And thus they sat on and on, anxiously watching for daylight.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

Dawn at last appeared, and as the light increased, Owen and his
companions on looking out discovered, to their joy, that the water had
gone down considerably, and that other parts of the sand-bank were
appearing above the hissing foam, although the water at intervals still
swept around them. The wind, also, had abated. Their first care was to
look after the boat. She lay broadside to the beach, proving that she
had been in no small danger of being carried off, but happily she had
escaped any serious damage. Small as she was, she would carry their now
diminished company.

They all agreed that it was important that they should get away with as
little delay as possible from the sand-bank, and either reach some
higher island or make their way to Batavia. There was a possibility
also of their being picked up by some passing vessel. Owen, who knew
that the distance to the Straits of Sunda could not be much less than
800 miles, and perhaps very much more, earnestly hoped that they might
be fortunate enough to meet with a vessel.

Although the mate talked of going to Batavia he seemed far less
confident in his manner than usual; indeed he appeared greatly out of
spirits.

"Do you think, sir, that we could make Batavia?" asked Owen, finding
himself alone with the mate.

"Yes, and we might go twice as far in our boat; but you have got a head
on your shoulders, as you have lately shown, and should recollect that
we cannot make a voyage of five or six days without water, and we may be
twice as long as that. Why, those small casks you have will be
exhausted before the boat can be got ready."

The mate's spirits rose considerably when Owen in reply told him that
there were two other casks concealed in the sand. "Oh, then we need not
stint ourselves as we have been doing," he answered. "We shall probably
get another shower before long, only I wish that we had some good liquor
to mix with it."

"But we may not get a shower, and the small supply w