“‘Now, lads,’ cried James, and as he spoke he seemed a head taller than I had ever seen him, ‘if we’ve got to fight, why, then, we’ll fight. But against these terrible savages we can’t fight with porridge-sticks. Luckily, in our cargo we have a hundred good rifles, and that is two for each of us; and we have revolvers, too, and plenty of ammunition. All good, mind you; for I chose the whole cargo myself. So now, bo’s’n, pipe up the guns; and this afternoon, men, and every day till we touch at the Unfortunate Islands, I’ll put you through your drill—which, bein’ an old navy man, I fancy I’m capable of doing. Are you all willing?’
“The cheer that shook the ship from stem to stern was a truly British one. It was their only answer, and the only answer needed or required.
“So the drilling was commenced, and entered into with great spirit. After all, this drill was merely preparation for ‘possible ’ventualities,’ as honest James called it, for fighting would be our very last resort, and we earnestly prayed that we might not be driven to it.
“At last, and early one morning, just as the sun was beginning to pencil the feathery clouds with gold and green and crimson, land was discovered on the lee bow.
“I brought the big telescope which James had named Mons Meg to bear upon it. Then I handed Meg to Smithson. He looked at the land long and earnestly, and glanced up at me with beaming face.
“‘That’s the principal island, Captain Halcott,’ he said; ‘the king’s own. How well we have hit it!’
“That same forenoon we cast anchor in Treachery Bay, close to the spot where the yacht had lain not many weeks before.
“Our sails were furled in quite a business-like way. We wanted to show the savages that we were not one whit afraid of them, that we had come to stay for a short spell, and hadn’t the remotest intention of running away.
“That you may better understand the shape or configuration of this strange island, gentlemen, here I show you a rough sketch-map. This will enable you also to follow more easily our subsequent adventures in the fastnesses of these terrible savages.