ed in the direction towards
which the stranger was pointing. As the boat touched the beach he
sprang out, and the instant afterwards, instead of seeing a stranger,
what was his surprise and delight to find his hand grasped by Gerald
Desmond.

"How, by all that's wonderful, did you come here?" exclaimed the master.
"We had long given you up for lost."

"I was afraid so," answered Desmond. "And, faith, I had some idea
myself that I was lost, for here I've been for many a long month, with
only two companions who escaped with me from the wreck of the Dutch ship
which brought me thus far. But, tell me, did the _Stella_ escape with
my uncle and the rest of the party on board?" Green relieved Desmond's
mind on that point, and astonished him not a little by adding that
Captain Adair commanded the ship outside. "And who are your
companions?" asked the master.

"An honest Dutch lad--Rip Van Winkle, as I call him--who was wrecked
with me, and our faithful dog Snarley. They set off this morning to
bring in a couple of goats to be sacrificed for your entertainment. I
saw you coming in last night, and I suspected that you were an English
man-of-war. You may, therefore, judge of my disappointment this morning
when I found that you had disappeared. Though I guessed the truth, that
you had been blown off again and would steam back, sometimes the
horrible thought would occur to me that the ship had gone down; but, if
such was the case, I hoped that some boats would have escaped and come
on shore."

Desmond expressed his great satisfaction on receiving the information
that his uncle Terence was captain of the ship which had in so
extraordinary a manner been driven for refuge towards the very rock on
which he had been wrecked.

"We very nearly met with the fate you supposed, and as the ship's bottom
somewhat resembles a sieve, such must be her destiny if we cannot manage
to get her over the bar at high water. At all events, we must run her
on it, for as the men are well-nigh worn out, she cannot be kept afloat
many hours longer," added Green.

"The sooner that's done the better, then," answered Desmond, "for should
the gale blow heavily, either on or off this shore, and provisions and
stores not have been saved, we may all quickly be reduced to starvation.
Rip and I have found enough to eat with the aid of our fishing-lines,
but the ship's company will be an over-abundant population for our small
kingdom."

"But I am ea