een dangerous for her to approach nearer. Mr
Tomkinson reported, as Mr Hanson had done, that the natives had
continued making a noise the whole night and firing, but that they had
carefully kept out of the way, so that he had been unable to catch hold
of any of them. Scarcely had the boat been hoisted up, than a heavy
squall struck the ship, and it became necessary to put on all the steam
to enable her to obtain a sufficient offing from the land. As the wind
continued to get up and the sea to increase, all hopes of communicating
with the shore for some days to come, had to be abandoned. Jack still
would not believe that his midshipmen had been killed, though it was
generally supposed on board that such had been their fate.

The surgeon, Dr McGauley, however, was inclined to hold with the
captain. "Dinna fash yourself, Captain Rogers," he observed,
"midshipmen have nine lives, like cats, and it is hard if the three
together don't manage to get clear of the savages, although, should they
be addicted to cannibalism, master Billy will run a good chance of being
eaten."

"It is said, however, that the Papuans are not cannibals, and the
fellows we encountered are certainly not the sort of savages I supposed
we should meet. My hope is that they have either made prisoners of the
midshipmen and the other men, or that our people have managed to escape
to the southward, and perhaps we may pick them up further along the
coast," observed the captain.

There was, however, no abatement of the gale; on the contrary, it had
become a perfect hurricane, and as reefs abound along the coast of New
Guinea, it was necessary for the safety of the ship to stand out to sea.
For nearly ten days the bad weather continued, and upwards of two weeks
elapsed before the _Empress_ could get back to the coast. Boats were
sent on shore as before, but the natives took good care not to appear.
The ship then slowly steamed to the southward, firing guns and making
signals, and, whenever possible, sending the boats in on two or three
occasions the natives were seen, but without an interpreter it was found
impossible to hold intercourse with them.

At length Jack was reluctantly compelled to give up all hope of
recovering his midshipmen and the men with them. He felt bound to
continue his voyage and to visit the islands at which he was directed to
call, before going to Fiji.

Several places were touched at in New Ireland, the Solomon Islands,
Sant