insect builds up from the bottom of the sea, the solid foundation. The waves break the summit into sand. The birds of the air come and rest there, and bring seeds, which in time spring up and decay, till a soil is formed to give nourishment to more lofty trees, such as we now saw before us. We shot in between a narrow opening, with the water of the deepest blue on either side-all hands were at their stations. Fairburn acted as quarter-master, ready to repeat our pilot's signals. It was a nervous time-now we seemed rushing on against a bank of trees, and directly we turned to the right hand or the left, through another opening, the termination of which was completely hidden from our sight; and had I not felt confidence in Van Graoul, I should have fancied that we were running into a blind passage without another outlet. On looking out astern. I found that we had completely lost sight of the sea, and thus were on every side surrounded by trees and reefs. A stranger would, indeed, have found no little difficulty in getting out of the place, had he ever by any wonderful chance managed to get into it. Still on we flew.

"Now," exclaimed Van Graoul triumphantly, "We shall see her directly; and if I mistake not, we shall not be far astern of her."

Soon after he spoke we shot past a thickly wooded point, and emerged into an open lake-like expanse. I saw his countenance fall. The stranger was no where to be seen.

CHAPTER XX.

Search in vain for the Stranger.-Is she the "Flying Dutchman?" -Dick Harper's Notions.-A Calm.-Excessive Heat.-Reports of Guns in the Distance.-Where can they come from?A Black Cloud in the North.-Darkness comes on.-Alarm of the Crew.-A Hurricane.-Fall of Ashes.-An Eruption of the burning Mountain of Tomboro.-Grand Appearance from the Sea.

EVERYBODY on board experienced a feeling of blank disappointment, as in vain we looked in the hopes of seeing the royals of the brig appearing above the trees. Either Van Graoul had miscalculated her distance from us, or she had taken some other passage; or as Dick Harper, the Yankee seaman, observed, she was in truth the "Flying Dutchman." At all events, it appeared that we had run into a most dangerous position, to very little purpose. Should the brig be the pirate, and still be concealed somewhere in the neighbourhood-if we brought up, she might at night attack us with her boats; and though we might beat them off, we might not escape loss, and at the same time be as far from our object as ever. We had no time for deliberation-our course must now be a-head, so we stood across the lake-like expanse I have spoken of, where as much caution as before was necessary; for it was full of reefs, and in another quarter of an hour we were again threading some

of the labyrinth-like canals from which we had before emerged. Every instant I hoped to come upon the chase, but still as we sailed on she eluded us.

I asked Van Graoul if there were any other passage by which she could have escaped.

"I know of none by which a wise man would have wished to carry a large ship; but there are, as you see, numbers of channels among the islands, and of some of them I know nothing."

His attention was too much occupied to allow me to keep him in conversation; and I saw he was as much vexed as I was at the escape of the stranger. Little Ungka seemed the most surprised of any one at finding himself among trees; but he shewed no disposition to quit his friends on board the schooner, even for the sake of being lord of all he surveyed. For two hours we stood on; sometimes the channels between the islands widened, and here we crossed broad sounds, but did not attempt to go down any of them, as their entrances, Van Graoul said, were full of dangerous shoals. We glided on; and I began to think that we were never to be clear of this wooded labyrinth; for, curious and beautiful as it might be under other circumstances, I wanted once more to have a clear sight around me.

"Starboard!" cried Fairburn, as our pilot waved his hand on one side; and the head of the schooner deviated to the left. "Port!"

"Port it is," repeated the helmsman, and her head turned towards a channel to the right. The wind now came on her quarter, now on her beam, according to the turnings of the channels; and I was afraid, sometimes, that it would come ahead. It, however, never baffled us, and at length, at the end of a broader passage

than usual, the unbroken line of the horizon appeared before us. The seamen welcomed it almost with a shout; for few like this sort of navigation. I proposed to Van Graoul that we should anchor before we emerged altogether from among the islands, so as to explore them more carefully in the boats, in case the brig should be still hid among them. Fairburn approved of my idea; and shortening sail immediately, we brought up in a little bay among the trees, by which the vessel was completely hid. Fairburn and the second mate, Barlow, volunteered for this service; and so urged me strongly to remain on board with Van Graoul, that I consented.

Fairburn first pulled out to sea, so that he might take a look all round; but coming back, he reported that there was no appearance anywhere of a sail to the southward; so that if the stranger had gone through the group, she must have passed out somewhere to the northward. While the boats were away we sent a hand to watch from the highest tree at the furthest point of land to the south, if any vessel made her appearance from among the islands. Hour after hour passed away and the boats did not return: the sun went down, and darkness came on, and at last I began to grow anxious about them. Van Graoul lighted his pipe and sat on the deck, puffing away with more energy than usual.

There is no fear," he remarked. "I did not expect them before morning; and if the brig is where I advised Fairburn to look for her, there is better chance of finding her in the dark than in the day-light without their being discovered."

Of course, I could not turn in. Van Graoul and I held each other in conversation, while we kept a bright

look out on every side. It was the morning watch, when I heard a hail-it seemed like the voice of a stranger-it came nearer-there was another hail, and to my great satisfaction Fairburn and Barlow pulled alongside. They had seen nothing of the brig; and we were all very much puzzled to know what had become of her. The next morning we weighed, and stood out to sea. Never was a brighter look-out kept for a prize than we kept for the appearance of the stranger; but to little purpose, beyond convincing ourselves that there was no probability of her appearing. For two days we cruised in the neighbourhood of the islands clear of the reefs, and at length once more stood on our course.

There was much discussion on board as to what she stranger was where she had come from-where she was going—and why if she was honest she ran away from us. The general notion among the crew was that she was something strange and supernatural.

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If not the Flying Dutchman, which could scarcely be the case seeing the latitude we are in," said Dick Harper, with oracular authority, "she's near akin to the chap, that you may depend on, for no other would have been for to go for to play us such a trick as he has been doing; and for that matter, messmates, look ye here—he may be the Dutchman himself, for if he can cruise about as they say he does, I don't see no reason why he should'nt take it into his head just to come down into these parts to have a look at some of his kindred, instead of knocking etarnally off and about the Cape, which no longer belongs to them, d'ye see. To my mind its just as well we had nothing to do with the fellow; he'd have played us some scurvy trick depend on 't."