The island was a very lovely and romantic-looking one indeed, an island evidently formed at first by volcanic upheaval, but now green-clad, to the summit of its strangely-shaped hills, with a luxuriance of tropical vegetation such as no one in the boat had ever seen surpassed.
It was doubtless the reflected image of this beautiful isle of the sea, that had caused the mirage which lost our heroes their ship.
They now lay on their oars for a time, to rest and think. It seemed evident that the island was uninhabited. Never a canoe was seen anywhere near it, nor were there any signs of hut or habitation by the beach, and never a vestige of smoke.
However, it appeared to be a very large island, and as yet they had seen but a portion of it. They first made the northern end of it; but here all around was a wall of black beetling crags frowning over the sea, the waves dashing up the sides of it and breaking into snow-white foam with a booming noise, that, mingling with the cry of sea-birds, made a wild and weird-like chorus on the still evening air.
There was no time to be lost, for the sun was rapidly declining; so, noticing that the dip of the hills trended to the southward and west, they made haste to row in that direction. The crags got lower and lower, but jutted out to sea at last, forming a cape or rocky promontory. Once past this, they found a coral reef lying all along the tree-shaded shore, about three hundred yards distant from it. On this the breakers were dashing with great force, and tossing their white arms high in air.
They rowed along the edge of this terrible barrier; and just as they were about to despair of finding an opening, beheld in front of them a narrow, very narrow, creek of unbroken water.
"Hard a-port, Kashia! Round with her, boy!"
"Ha'd a-po't it is, sah!" cried Cassia-bud.
Round came the boat like a beauty, and next moment they were carried right into a splendid reef-locked harbour, large enough for the whole British navy to have lain snugly and comfortably in.
"Heaven be praised!" said Fred with a sigh, as he paused to wipe the perspiration from his brow.