"Can't be helped, my lad," he said, "and, after all, we stand a better chance with the savages than we do in this boat in a typhoon."
They could not help admitting that this seemed true. In even a moderate gale the lightly built collapsible craft would not last long. In one of the savage typhoons of Polynesia she would be sunk like a stone.
No time was lost therefore in getting out the oars and starting to pull along the coast. Acting on Captain Akers' recommendation, they kept close in to the shore. But they were not rewarded by the sight of any good landing place. On the contrary, Ohdahmi—like the other islands of the Marquesas Group—rose precipitately from the water, the cliffs towering steeply up from the surface of the sea.
"What is that peculiar looking object over there?" asked Nat suddenly.
He indicated a black thing bobbing about on the water. It was not so very far distant from the boat and they all gazed at it with interest.
"It's a barrel!" exclaimed Captain Akers presently, "and—really this is very curious—it has two smaller barrels attached to each side so as to keep it upright. If it wasn't that bad weather may be on us at any moment, I'd like to look into this thing."
"It certainly looks peculiar," admitted Nat. "Hark!" he broke off suddenly. "I can hear somebody singing!"
Sure enough, there came borne to their ears the sound of a song, intoned in a not over musical voice:
"My bonnie lies over the oc-e-a-n!
My bonnie lies ov-er the sea!
My bonnie lies ov-er the ocean!
O-ho-o, bring back my bonnie to me!"
"Where on earth is it coming from?" gasped Nat, glancing about. He half suspected that Ding-dong might be playing a trick. But no, the stuttering lad's face was puzzled as the countenances of the others.