The mishap had occurred because the ship had gotten off her course when Washington's accident occurred, and had not been set right in time.
However, as Mr. Henderson had said, there was no particular danger, unless it was found that some of the plates had been strained, which might cause a leak.
The night was passed with the nose of the Porpoise well up on shore, and before morning, as the tide continued to fall, more and more of the craft became exposed until the whole steel body rested on the sloping beach.
Jack was the first to awaken. He was up with the sun, and went out on the deck to take a view of the country he had often heard about. A stretch of wild landscape met his eyes, and to the left and right of the ship the waves were breaking on jagged rocks.
"It's a good thing we didn't hit the rocks," thought the youth.
Mark came up on deck, and the two boys looked over the scene. It was a strange one. Beyond the beach was a low level country, green in places, with now and then a patch of what looked like trees.
"And what are those brown spots moving about?" asked Mark.
"I guess they are herds of cattle," replied Jack. "You know South America is a great place for them."
For half an hour the two lads gazed about. Except for the stern of the Porpoise all of the craft was now out of water, and one could have jumped from the low deck down to a mound of white sand of the beach.
"Let's go ashore and take a run," suggested Mark. "I've almost forgotten how to walk on dry land."