"There may be natives here," said Moss. "We must be cautious; they are treacherous beggars, especially when they have not seen much of white men."
They had their guns with them, and Phil, pointing to them, said, "We can easily frighten them off with a few shots."
"We must all keep together, at any rate," replied Moss. "The danger arises when there is any separation. I'll never forget in one of the South Sea Islands when I strolled away into the bush by myself. I had not been half an hour alone before I was surrounded by yelling savages. I made a bolt for it, but it was more by good luck than anything else I got back to the boat with nothing worse than a couple of spear wounds."
"This is different to the South Seas," said Phil; "but as you say, it is well to be cautious, for there is no telling what may happen. This cannot be Rank's Bay; there's no pearl shell in here."
"I wonder if we shall find the place," said Jack.
"We will find it if it is to be found," answered Phil, as the boat grated on the sand, and he sprang out, gun in hand. The others followed, and leaving a man in charge with instructions to keep a sharp look out, they walked up the sloping bank under the trees.
"There's a path here," said Moss, "and that's a sure sign natives hang about the place."
Jack Redland was looking across the bay, thinking what a glorious sight it was, when the sand on the opposite side seemed to be alive with a moving mass of living creatures. He gave an exclamation of surprise, and the others turned round to ascertain the cause.
"Look!" said Jack, pointing across. "What are those black masses moving about on the beach?"
"By jove, they are turtles!" exclaimed Moss. "We must get hold of some of them before we go back to the schooner. They are splendid eating and no doubt we shall find any amount of eggs."