I have got that paper in my possession at the present time.

Well, that led to a good bit of discussion. This ship had visited the island on February 1st, one month before we ran ashore. The notice said that another Government vessel would call in six months from that date.

"Don't see any record of her having been here," said Knudsen; "and I should think that they would have left some notice if they had been."

"They must have been here," said Walters; "they could not be three or four months behind time."

"Now, don't let's be worrying about that at all," put in Mickey; "we have had trouble enough to get here, and sure it is not ourselves that will be wanting to lave it so quickly."

Whether the ship had been, or whether it had not there was no sense in worrying about it; the only thing was to make the best of the blessings we had, and to see, as quickly as possible, of what the stores consisted. We started our overhauling, and I do not think I ever had a more pleasurable occupation in my life. We had not been at work very long before we came across a little wooden box, page 255and, when we opened it, to our great delight we found two dozen boxes of Bryant & May's vestas!

"Hurrah for the darlints!" cried Mickey. "Don't they look illigant with their little red heads; and good luck to the fellows that made them !"

"Now, Mickey!" I said, "you take some of the matches and go and get a fire going; we have not had a good square meal for I don't know when, but we will have one now, and you shall be cook."

"I will do that same," said Mickey, "and if I don't cook you an illigant dinner, faith you may boil me and cook me instead !" And with that off Mickey went, while we three other fellows stopped to finish our overhauling.

In the way of food we found six two-pound tins of meat—we wished there had been more, but we were not going to grumble. The only other food was biscuits, and there seemed plenty of those to go on with. Then we came across two big cases marked respectively "blankets" and "clothes"; we soon had them open.

There were a dozen blankets—good thick ones —there were a dozen suits of clothes, one dozen shirts, six pairs of underpants, and a dozen pairs of boots.

Well, then, we came to another box, and we found two knives, a good fishing-line, palm, needle, twine, a pair of scissors, and of all things —two big bars of soap ! In another box we found an old-pattern gun, fifty rounds of ammu-page 256nition, two or three axes, a couple of augers, and a hammer and nails.

All this time Mickey had been busy in the hut where the bunks were, for that was the one with the fireplace in. Not such a fireplace as we have in England. It was a sort of platform, built of bricks, about four feet long, three feet wide, and about two feet high, and it had a sort of chimney made to carry off the smoke; and about two feet above the fireplace was an iron bar fixed, with two chains attached and pots hanging from it.

Mickey had got a good fire going, and was making a big feed of tinned meats and biscuits, all boiled up together like soup, the smell of which was so delicious that our mouths fairly watered for it. However, Mickey said it was not ready yet, so we turned to and cleaned the place out, and rigged up our bunks; then we went down and washed ourselves solemnly; we cut each other's hair and beards—decidedly not in the West End style, but more after the fashion prevalent in His Majesty's prisons; and then we donned our new clothes and boots, and I give you my word that when we had finished we did not know ourselves, much less each other.

We were a happy party as we sat down and ate Mickey's soup of biscuits and meat—we voted that he made a splendid cook—and then we started right away to overhaul the boat, feeling that our first duty was to go and fetch our companions, to share these good things with us.

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We had all turned out at daylight, and by the time we had our morning meal and got cleared away, it was about eight o'clock; so we had a whole day in which to make a sail and get a mast rigged for the boat.

It had only been six miles to cross in the canvas canoe; but now we were on the opposite side of Auckland Island, and it meant that we should have to pull right round its northern extremity—over thirty miles. That was too far to row when there was a chance of sailing.

She was not the right build of boat to make such a journey in the latitude where we were. She was more of the pleasure boat type, and good for pulling. We found a spar in the boat-shed, which served for a mast, and we cut a piece of timber from the forest to make a gaff for the mainsail. The boat had a pretty long painter of three-inch rope, and this we unlaid, and then laid up in six yarn nettles, which we used for the stays and halyards.

It took us all day to get things ready, and it was close on evening when we ran her down to the water, and shoved her off for a trial trip. The water was very smooth in the bay, but the boat seemed a bit cranky, so we put some rocks in her for ballast, and then she was pretty steady. We sailed her round for half an hour or so, and found she behaved herself very well, and then we returned.

We had had a hard day's work, and as we were going to start away at daylight the next morning, we decided that we would turn in and get a good night's rest; but before we did that, and page 258and while we were having our evening meal, we sat and discussed our prospective journey.

"I reckon three of us are enough to take her over" said Knudsen.

"I am sure of it," I said.

"I do not know why we should not all go," said Walters. And Knudsen explained his idea.

We had got to bring all the other fellows over, and, therefore, if three were enough to take the boat over, it meant that one more could come on the first trip. Of course, that meant "Who was to stay?" But we had not much difficulty in coming to our decision.

Mickey was the least robust of the lot of us, and Mickey we decided we would leave behind. Of course, he looked very solemn, and raised some objection to being left alone on a great, big, desolate island; but there was a merry twinkle in his eyes, and we all understood that Master Mickey knew he was in for the softest part of the bargain.

However, we had our revenge in one way, for we routed him out before we went in the morning, and we made him light the fire and get us our breakfast.

The day had only fairly broken when we wended our way down to the beach and got into the boat, taking with us a supply of biscuits and a tin of meat for our companions.

"Don't be after leaving me alone long," said Mickey. "Sure, it is meself that will stand on this blessed spot and wait till I see you coming back."

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"You get" we laughed. "We shan't be back until late to-morrow, and mind you have got some grub ready for us when we do come."

Well, off we went. We had landed on the island just by that mountain right opposite Disappointment Island: then we had crossed over by Megs Hills, till we came out by the bay opposite the depot. Now we had to return past Enderby Island, and so round back to the other side.

Still, we went away at a fair speed, for the wind was fair. We were trying to make a passage between the main island and Rose Island, but when we got near the bar we saw that we should never do it, for the water was absolutely boiling over it—far too rough for our little craft.

Well, we came round. We thought we would try and make a passage between Rose Island and Enderby Island; although it meant a good many more miles. But when we got there we found that we were no better off. The bar between those two islands was far too rough for us to attempt to cross, and it was broken water right up to the island.

"I will tell you what we shall have to do," said Knudsen. "We have got to go right round the outside of that island, and it is no good talking about it. It may take a little longer, but it will be safer in the long run."

So we tacked and came about, seeking to run right round the outside of Enderby Island, close in by North East Cape. You can see that marked on the map for yourselves. We were page 260travelling at a fair pace, and we sailed in as close to the outer island as we could.

"What in the name of goodness is that moving about there?" I cried. "Look there —right down on the beach !"

My companions, attracted by my exclamation, followed the direction I indicated, and there on the beach, they saw that which had attracted my attention.

"It is not a seal," said Walters, and at that we all laughed.

That was self-evident. It was something on four legs.

"Can't be a pig" said Knudsen. "Stands too high for that."

And then I uttered a shout of surprise.

"By jingo, boys, it is a bull! Why, look ! You can see its horns now!"

My word! How we congratulated ourselves upon that. There was not the slightest doubt about it, the creature at which we were gazing was an ox of some kind. An island with cows upon it within easy reach. What wonder that we congratulated ourselves. That cow could not be a solitary specimen. That was almost impossible; and if there were a few more of the same kind knocking around it would not signify very much if we had not got a very large supply of tinned meat.

On both these small islands we noticed white sheds, and we came to the conclusion that they would contain boats to enable any castaway to get from them to the main island and the depôts. We afterwards found that page 261this was correct. There were boats on several of the islands round there. It was only on Disappointment Island that no one believed that any soul could ever reach its inhospitable ground alive.

By the time we were off the outermost point of the island the sea looked pretty black. We were now about twenty miles from the depot. But we were not going to be dismayed by that, and we went on. But then, just as we got round the point, the wind shifted dead ahead, and we knew we were in for a pretty tough job.

It was no good trying to sail or to pull against that head-wind and sea in the direction to which we were bound. We had only got one of two things to do—either to go right away back, or to land on one of the small islands, and after some discussion we chose the former course.

We unshipped the mast, and we started on our way back to the depot. We were a good bit outside the outer island—that is Enderby Island—and there was a wretched head-wind and head sea. We were in for it now all right. Of all the miserable pulls that I ever had in all my life that one was the hardest and most miserable. The more we pulled, the further off she seemed to get. We absolutely could not make any headway at all, and to add to our other inconveniences, she was shipping seas all the time.

Knudsen was steering and baling—she needed baling out. We all started pulling as page 262hard as we could, and at last we got her to go very slow ahead. But it was a terribly stiff job. Moreover, it had come on to rain, and we were all soaked to the skin again.

Well, at last we got abreast of our island, and that meant, of course, that the sea got very much better, but the wind was still ahead. We had been at that abominable job all day long, and it was just about dark when we bumped the nose of our boat upon the beach by the depôt.

"Mickey! Mickey, oh!" we shouted.

But there was no Mickey. He had not waited on the beach for our return.

Muttering all manner of unpleasant things, we tramped up to the depot and went in, and there he was, his lazy old back against the wall as close to the fire as he could get without getting into it, an empty dish by his side, his arms folded on his breast, and his head sunk forward, snoring blissfully.

I am afraid that Master Mickey was somewhat rudely aroused from his slumbers, and he certainly was very much surprised to see us back again. He could not help poking sly jokes at us, saying he was afraid we had spoilt our new clothes, and that we were very careless.

However, he bustled about and soon had a comfortable meal for us, and he uttered whoops of delight and executed an Irish jig in the middle of the room when we told him that we had discovered cattle on Enderby Island.

"Well, we shall have to try it again tomorrow, lads" said Knudsen.

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"Of course you will," said Mickey; "you could not leave those poor fellows away there on that place, while we are enjoying ourselves here."

"Look here, Mickey," I said, "I will tell you one thing, my boy. If we go to-morrow, you come with us; it is not good for a fellow to be idle too long, and you may just as well have a spell at pulling those oars with the rest of us." And both Walters and Knudsen agreed with me, which left Mickey no hopes of my being in a minority.

We were up the next morning an hour or so before daybreak, for we wanted to get away as soon as ever we had light enough. Anyway, the journey was going to take a good time, and had we started later, and been overtaken by darkness, we might have experienced a good deal of peril.

We had something to eat, then we put a tin of biscuits into the boat, then shut the doors of the depot safely, and in the half light we started upon our voyage, in this second attempt to reach our companions on the other island.

We had a good deal of discussion as to the route we should follow. Walters was inclined to take the passage right outside the island, the same way we had been on the previous day; but on the other hand, Knudsen and I said that now we had Mickey with us, there was no need to go such a distance out of the way, as with a fourth man to help us we might as well run the gauntlet across the bar—that meant saving a good number of miles, as you can see for yourselves if you refer to the map.

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After a discussion our plan was agreed upon, and accordingly we steered a passage for the channel between Rose Island and the mainland. We reached the bar just about daylight, and we found that altogether it was not as bad as it was on the previous day; it was quite rough enough—too rough, indeed, for our liking.

"I don't think we shall ever cross that," said Walters emphatically, while. Mickey whistled expressively. Knudsen and myself were not prepared to renew the argument; we were getting close up to the bar, and we were not going to tack about and go on the other course now. We therefore sailed ahead right for it, and soon we were in broken water, and then the boat commenced to drift to leeward.

"This won't do," said Knudsen, and his words admitted of no questioning. There was a reef out in that direction, and if once our boat had come against that, it would have been all over with her and with us. We put an oar out to leeward to keep her to windward as much as possible, which made things a bit better; but for all that we had a very narrow squeak; we did not stop her drifting, but only checked it slightly, and she kept getting nearer and nearer to the rocks, so that it became a question with us whether we should get her clean over that bar before the current smashed her on the land.

I remember that as we were crossing—indeed, we were about half-way across—a great seal stood out of the water fully five feet, right page 265ahead of us. He seemed awfully surprised to see us there; he cocked his head on one side and had a good look at us, and then down he went like a flash; but even had he reappeared, we were experiencing far too anxious a time to have been able to give any attention to him.

After a hard tussle we got across all right, and no sooner were we over, than our craft was relieved from the current which had been dragging us over to leeward, and as soon as she got out of its clutches she started forward like a racehorse: and away we went, for it was all clear sailing.

We had a splendid run up as far as the northernmost point of the big island, sailing wing and wing, having the jib sheet made fast to the loom of an oar, and the oar being run out over the gunwale, the mainsail being out on the opposite side. When we rounded the point the wind was ahead of us, but still we hoped to lay close enough to get near to our little island, which we could now see.

Time was getting on—it was near mid-day— and as we had entered our little craft before daylight we were all getting considerably stiff. Of course, it was nothing like so bad as it had been in the canvas boat—that was simply abominable—but it was quite bad enough.

Our little craft was such a cockleshell that you could not move about in her at all; and besides that, we had to keep to wind'ard all the time. To make things exciting, every now and again she would jib, and then we had to page 266look smart, or we should have been over. For the benefit of those of my readers who do not understand what I mean by jibbing, let me explain myself more clearly. I mean that all of a sudden the wind would shift from one quarter to another; therefore, the jib and the mainsail would swing over from one side to the other of our little craft. Now, you see, this canvas was not boat canvas at all; it was the strong, heavy stuff that sailing vessels carry, and you can well understand that when these sails swung over suddenly and violently, their weight would cause the boat to heel over with them; and at those times we had to shift to the opposite side and hang over the gunwale to prevent her going right over.

We kept her shaking close to the wind until we got abreast of the island, and then we stopped to have a biscuit each, and to unship the mast, and pull the rest of the way, as it would be quicker for us than to keep tacking to our landing-place. Of course, we were not near the island yet, and had still a good way to go.

So we started to unship the mast, and as we did so we noticed a great column of smoke arising from our old camp, and Mickey laughed.

"Sure, the boys have seen us; they are not slow to make a signal."

"They have seen the boat," said Knudsen, "but I rather fancy that they do not think it is us. Where would be the need of making great smoke signals like that for fellows who knew the way back all right ? "

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"I reckon," I said, "they think we are some small sealer, or something of that sort; won't they just be surprised when they find out who it really is!"

"Don't think they will believe it is us," said Mickey; "we look such respectable, illigant fellows now, that they won't be after knowing us."

So we worked, laughing and chaffing with each other, feeling happy ourselves as we thought of our poor comrades' delight when they should hear our story.

We were on the opposite side of the island to our landing place, so that meant that we were going to have a big pull round. We got the mast down, and then we jettisoned our ballast, and taking the oars, we started to pull long and strong towards the island.

As we drew closer, we could see little tiny black specks running along by the edge of the cliff, and waving diminutive hands; and we chuckled again at that. The fellows were signalling us as to the direction in which we were to go.

"All right, darlints, take it aisy," muttered Mickey; "we are coming, and by the powers you won't be more glad to see us than we shall be to get there, for it is tired I am for one, with sitting in this boat so long."

We drew closer and closer, until we were able to distinguish our comrades plainly; but whilst we could recognize them, they had not the least idea who we were; for they never expected us to come back in a sailing craft, or page 268properly clad; indeed, they had given up all hopes of our corning back at all.

When we got close in, one fellow yelled fit to burst his lungs: "There is a landing-place on the other side !" at the same time pointing in the direction indicated.

We raised our hands in reply, but did not shout, because we wanted to surprise them; and we pulled towards the landing place, noticing, as we did so, our comrades running across towards the spot where we should have to come in.

How well we remembered the place, the only spot in the whole island where a landing could be made ! But how different were our feelings as we now approached to what they had been when we had started upon our desperate venture ! Then we had death staring us in the face; now we were coming back happy and light-hearted, crowned with success.

We were now close in, and our comrades were right down at the water's edge, ready to assist us, and then all of a sudden it dawned upon them who we were; and then didn't they cheer—such a cheer as made the rocks ring, and startled the sea birds that were wheeling overhead.