ill go down
and get my glass."

"It is the land, Mr Seagrave," said Ready, after examining it with his
glass--"yes, it is so," continued he, musing; "I wish that we had seen
it earlier; and yet we must be thankful."

"Why so, Ready?"

"Only, sir, as the ship forges so slowly through the water, I fear that
we shall not reach it before dark, and I should have wished to have had
daylight to have laid her nicely on it."

"There is very little wind now."

"Well, let us hope that there will be more," replied Ready; "if not, we
must do our best. But I must now go to the helm, for we must steer
right for the island; it would not do to pass it, for, Mr Seagrave,
although the ship does not leak so much as she did, yet I must now tell
you that I do not think that she could be kept more than twenty-four
hours above water. I thought otherwise this morning when I sounded the
well; but when I went down in the hold for the beef, I perceived that we
were in more danger than I had any idea of; however, there is the land,
and every chance of escape; so let us thank the Lord for all his
mercies."

"Amen!" replied Mr Seagrave.

Ready went to the helm and steered a course for the land, which was not
so far distant as he had imagined, for the island was very low: by
degrees the wind freshened up, and they went faster through the water;
and now, the trees, which had appeared as if in the air, joined on to
the land, and they could make out that it was a low coral island covered
with groves of cocoa-nuts. Occasionally Ready gave the helm up to Mr
Seagrave, and went forward to examine. When they were within three or
four miles of it, Ready came back from the forecastle and said, "I think
I see my way pretty clear, sir: you see we are to the windward of the
island, and there is always deep water to the windward of these sort of
isles, and reefs and shoals to leeward; we must, therefore, find some
little cleft in the coral rock to dock her in, as it were, or she may
fall back into deep water after she has taken the ground, for sometimes
these islands run up like a wall, with forty or fifty fathom of water
close to the weather-sides of them; but I see a spot where I think she
may be put on shore with safety. You see those three cocoa-nut trees
close together on the beach? Now, sir, I cannot well see them as I
steer, so do you go forward, and if I am to steer more to the right, put
out your right hand, and if to the left, the same with