which may be passed over briefly, in three days we had the box
of gems, and as much gold as we considered we could take. The schooner
was ballasted with it, taking in, as nearly as we could calculate,
twenty tons, and the precious metal was also substituted for the lead
ballast of the cutter. The aperture in the deck of the buried ship was
then carefully boarded over as before, the sand shovelled back into its
place, and to time and the winds were left the work of completely
eradicating all remaining traces of our labours. Both craft were then
fully provisioned and watered, abundant preparation having already been
made, and on the morning following the completion of our final
arrangements, both craft made sail from the island, the _Ada_ leading
out through the channel, and stood away to the southward and westward
under every stitch of canvas that would draw. We soon found, however,
that in moderate weather the _Water Lily_ could sail round and round the
_Ada_, and we had to take in our topsail and haul down a reef in our
mainsail to avoid running away from her altogether; it was only when it
came to double-reefed canvas that her superior power told sufficiently
to produce an equality in our speeds. It seemed as though everything
which we were to meet with in the shape of adventure had befallen us on
the first half of our voyage, for day after day passed by without
anything to distinguish it from the others, and after a quick and
pleasant run, we reached Melbourne just in time to catch the homeward-
bound mail, and to send a hurried letter to my sister, acquainting her
with the agreeable intelligence of our double success. I here had an
opportunity of acquainting the proper authorities with all the
circumstances connected with the destruction of the pirate-brig, and of
the crew being imprisoned on the island, and I afterwards learned that a
cruiser had been despatched to the spot, and that the entire band were
captured, tried, condemned upon a mass of evidence, which was soon
collected against them, and hanged.

Here also I had the happiness of being united to the dear girl who had
in so many ways proved herself worthy of my best and strongest love, and
as our story--excepting that part of it which related to the finding of
the treasure--had got wind, the sympathy and kind feeling shown towards
us by the warm-hearted colonists, was such as to convert our wedding-day
almost into a day of public rejoicing. All the s