m which they could obtain a view of the surrounding country,
and then they discovered that their place of refuge was a small solitary
island, in the midst of the boundless sea.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.

THE ISLAND-HOME EXAMINED.

For a long time father and son stood on the elevated rock gazing in
silence on the little spot of earth that was to be their home, it might
be, for months, or even years.

The island, as I have said, was a solitary one, and very small--not more
than a mile broad, by about three miles long; but it was covered from
summit to shore with the richest tropical verdure, and the trees and
underwood were so thick that the cliffs could only be seen in places
where gaps in the foliage occurred, or where an aspiring peak of rock
shot up above the trees. In order to reach the ridge on which they
stood, the castaways had passed beneath the shade of mangrove, banana,
cocoa-nut, and a variety of other trees and plants. The land on which
these grew was undulating and varied in form, presenting in one
direction dense foliage, which not only filled the little valleys, but
clung in heavy masses to rocks and ridges; while in other places there
were meadows of rich grass, with here and there a reedy pond, whose
surface was alive with wild ducks and other water-fowl. Only near the
top of the island--which might almost be styled a mountain ridge--was
there any appearance of uncovered rock. There were two principal peaks,
one of which, from its appearance, was a volcano, but whether an active
one or not Gaff could not at that time determine. Unlike the most of
the South Sea islands, this one was destitute of a surrounding coral
reef, so that the great waves caused by the recent storm burst with
thunderous roar on the beach.

At one point only was there a projecting point or low promontory, which
formed a natural harbour; and it was on the outer rocks of this point
that the father and son had been providentially cast. The whole scene
was pre-eminently beautiful; and as the wind had gone quite down, it
was, with the exception of the solemn, regular, intermittent roar of the
breakers on the weather side, quiet and peaceful. As he sat down on a
rock, and raised his heart to God in gratitude for his deliverance, Gaff
felt the spot to be a sweet haven of rest after the toils and horrors of
the storm.

A single glance was sufficient to show that the island was uninhabited.

The silence was first broken by Billy