“Yes; and we must fish for and catch some of these little fellows. Do, father, look at that one gliding along by that clump of branched stuff, plant or coral, or whatever it calls itself. Why it’s like a gold-fish with a great, broad bar of glittering blue across it.”
“Lovely!” cried the doctor.
A discordant burst of shrill, whistling screams came from the cocoa-nut grove ashore, and Jack looked up sharply.
“Paroquets,” said the captain. “There they are, quite a flock of them.”
Jack’s hand stole behind him toward the guns and just then there was a fluttering of wings, and a little cloud of green, shot with orange yellow and blue, glided out of the grove and flew inland.
“Let’s land,” said Sir John. “There is so much to see, that we had better content ourselves with a preliminary look round.”
“Yes,” said the doctor, “and devote separate days after to some particular branch. Pull away, my lads.”
“Yes; but very gently,” cried Jack; and they glided on, the men guessing the wishes of those on board by swinging together with a slow, steady motion, and just lightly dipping their oars without a splash, so that, as they glided on toward a patch of sand some four hundred yards away, where the grove of palms was the highest, and the shade from the glowing sun the deepest, a glorious view of the submarine treasures was enjoyed. Jack sighed as the boat’s prow touched the sands, the men sprang out on either side in the shallow water, and ran her right up on the shore, close to a great cocoa-nut tree, ready for the painter to be attached in case the tide should rise as high.
Two men were left as keepers, and the party, shouldering their arms, prepared to start inland.
“It will be best, gentlemen,” said the captain, “to make our way along the open ground between the lagoon and the forest to-day, and to keep well together. I don’t think there is a soul but ourselves on the island, but it is as well to take every step as if we were in face of enemies. For no doubt once upon a time the people who live among these tropical islands were fairly amiable when not provoked; but I’m sorry to say that they have been so ill-used by the sailors and traders of all nations, that whatever they may have been, they are often now ready to behave in a very treacherous manner to white people.”