“Land, ho!”
“Where away?” came from the bridge as the Jackies craned their necks and gazed forward.
“Two points off the starboard bow!”
Glasses were leveled at the purple patch lying like a tiny cloud on the far horizon.
“What land can it be?” wondered Ned, shading his eyes, but from the low elevation of the forecastle it was hard to see anything but a faint blue line.
“Must be Oahu,” responded a blue-jacket standing beside him.
“One of the Hawaiian group?”
“Yes; the island on which Honolulu, the principal port of the islands, is located.”
Ned and Herc exchanged delighted glances. It was like coming toward a land of their dreams. As the battleships plowed onward, the land rose higher out of the sea. Soon they could see towering mountain peaks, and gradually, as they drew nearer, all the details of the green hillsides clothed with tropical verdure and the numerous plantations that dotted them came into range.
“Well, we’re going to see things now,” declared Ned enthusiastically, his eyes shining.