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Show I iICK RODNEY; j or. The Adventures of I J 5 J An Eton Boy... I I j by Jfl.ES GRAN T. j 2 rared us that this waa ImposT""" the first place, by the PoS0? ,? sun, he could see that we we he far south as the parallel of Pr,'0180 Giorgio on the Brazilian shore l' f0 the second, the existence of ' ,a island was doubted. h "a "Can it be Trinidad Island ti da Cunha, or the Rocks of Mr Vaz?" asked Tom Lambourne m "If the latter," replied Hision should now be In south latitude Jo a 27-min., but this land in no wt, swers to the aspect of the Mart'r, ' Rocks." -a2 "Did you ever see them, sir-)" .,, . I several. ' I "No; but they are described by J. fV Perrouse as appearing lil;e flve . 1 tinct headlands." After pausing aJ pondering for a moment, he suddenly added, with confidence, "it js Island of Alphonso de Albuquerque'" "How do you know?" I inquired "By the appearance of that cliff,' and the mountain inland." You have been here before?'' asked Probart. "Never; but I know it to be Alphonso by that cliff on the north, and the mountain, too, which were particularly described in a Spanish book I lost In the Eugenie. The mountain is a peak which the author says resembles did any of you ever see a place like it be fore?" "It is as like Tenny Reef from the port of Santa Cruz as one egg is another!" exclaimed Tom Lambourne "Exactly, Tom, that is what the Spanish author likens it to, though he doesn't use the simile. So if it 8 the island of Alphonso, we are now somewhere in south latitude 37 deg 6 min., and west longitude 12 deg. 2 mm Pull southward, my lads, the shore opens a bit beyond that headland. We J shall find a smooth beach probablj within that bight yonder." "Anyway we're not in pilot's water," added Tom, laughing; "give way, mates stretch out." We pulled with a hearty will, and ere long were close in shore so close that our larboard oars seemed almost to touch the mighty rocks which rose sheer from the sea, like mighty Cyclopean Cyclo-pean walls, but covered with the greenest green-est moss; they overhung and overshadowed over-shadowed the dark, deep water that washed their base, and as they shielded shield-ed us from the fierce noonday heat of tne sun, we found the partial coolness reireshing and delightful. As Hislop had foreseen, on rounding the bluff, the shore receded inward, and through a line of white surf, like that which boils over the bar at a river's mouth, we dashed into a beautiful little lit-tle bay, the sandy beach of which was shaded by groves of bright green trees. Still we saw no trace of inhabitants; but selecting a small creek, which was almost concealed by trees that grew, like mangroves, close to the edge of the water, we ran our boat in, moored her securely, where none were likely to find her save ourselves, and then all save Hislop and Billy the cabin boy, who remained to attend him,' we went on an exploring expedition In search of natives or whatever might turn up next. (To be continued.) CHAPTER XXV (Continued.) I "All's over now," said Tom Lambourne. Lam-bourne. as he grasped tire tiller with a firm hand, after carefully wrapping a blanket round poor Hislop, who drooped droop-ed beside him in the stern-sheets. "Which way shall we pull?'' asked tha bowman, as we paused with our oars in the rowlocks. "It matters little, mates," cried Tom, In a. loud voice, with his left hand at the side of his mouth, to send w.utt lie said forward above the roar of the vind and sea. "We must be many undred miles from Brazil, the nearest land, and we can do nothing now but keep our boat alive by baling and steering till daybreak. Now, Master Hislop," he added, lowering his voice, "how do you feel, sir?" "I feel that I am quite iu your way, my lads a useless hand aboard, to consume your food and water," replied re-plied Hislop, faintly. "Why, sir," said Probart, the stroke oarsman, "you don't think we could have left you to burn in that poor old brig?" "No, not exactly; still I am of no use to you, and I feel " "What, sir, what?" asked Tom, anxiously. anx-iously. "Heart sick and despairing," moaned moan-ed Hislop, letting his chin drop on his breast. "Don't talk so, sir," said Lambourne, stoutly; "despair never found a place in the heart of a British sailor." "You are right, Tom; and perhaps I'll gather headway and get to windward wind-ward yet." "Of course you will," replied Tom, cheerfully; "but here's a sea coming together, lads, pull together!" Despair might well .have found a place in all our breasts at that awful crisis; but Tom's bluff and cheerful way prevented our hearts from sinking, sink-ing, though the hours of that awful night seemed dark and long. Well, without compass, chart, or quadrant, there we were, ten in number, num-ber, in an open boat, tossing upon a dark and stormy sea, enveloped in clouds, with the red lightning gleaming gleam-ing through their ragged openings, or at the far and flat horizon ignorant of where we were, where to steer for, or what to do, and full of terrible anticipations for the future! , We were silent and sleepless. My heart was full of horror, grief and vague alarm, when I thought of my home the quiet, the happy and peaceful old rectory, with all who loved me there, and whom I might never see again. The hot tears that started to my eyes mingled with the cold spray that drenched my cheeks, and there seemed seem-ed but one consolation for me, that my father, my affectionate mother and sisters, sis-ters, dear Dot and little Sybil, could Tom Lambourne steered; the sea was smooth, the wind light, and in our favor; so ere long the mast was shipped ship-ped and a sail hoisted to lessen the labor of the rowers. We were anxious for the dense bank of purple cloud to clear away, that we might have a more extensive view of the horizon, and perhaps discover a sail, but the envious vapor seemed to darken and to roll before us, or rather before the wind that bore us aft after it. About midday, when we were pausing paus-ing on our oars, breathless and panting pant-ing with heat, drenched with perspiration, perspira-tion, which ran into our eyes and trickled down our breasts, and when visions of ice-water and bitter beer came tantalizingly to memory for sea and sky were equally hot, as the former for-mer seemed to welter and become oily under the blaze of the latter a sharp-winged sharp-winged bird that skimmed past us suddenly sud-denly caught the hollow eye of Hislop, who, I thought, was sleeping. "Do you see that bird, Tom?" he exclaimed, half starting up from the stern-sheets; "it is a man-of-war bird!" "What then, sir?" "We must be near land," replied the mate. "Land!" reiterated every one in the boat, their voices expressing joy, surprise sur-prise or incredulity. "Is it Brazil?" asked Tattooed Tom, with amazement in his singular face. "I do not think so," said Hislop, passing a hand wearily and reflectively over his pale forehead. "Brazil it is impossible, by the last reckoning I made before that Spaniard wounded me. But Heaven only knows where we may have drifted to since then!" "The wind and currents may have taken us many hundred miles from where the last observation was made," added Carlton. "But I am convinced that we are near land look at the sea-wrack that passes us now; and we must be out of the track of the Gulf-weed," continued con-tinued the mate, with confidence. , "And may I never see the Nore again if that ain't land now, looming right ahead through the fog-bank!" exclaimed Tom, starting up and shading shad-ing his eyes from the sun with both hands, as he peered intently westward. As the reader may imagine, we all gazed anxiously enough in the direction direc-tion indicated by the old seaman, and a swell of rapture rose in the breasts of all when something in the form of a headland or bluff could be distinctly seen right ahead, bearing due west, about seven miles distant, standing out from the bank of vapor, or looming loom-ing like a darker shadow within it. This appearance never changed in outline, but remained stationary, and every moment became more defined never know how I perished by hunger or drowning, if such were to be my fate. AU the stories I had heard or read of ship-wrecked men their sufferings, their endurance of gnawing hunger and burning thirst, their cannibalism, their mortal struggles with their dearest dear-est friends for the last morsel of food, for the last drop of water, and how the weak perished that the strong might live crowded upon my memory mem-ory to augment the real terrors of our situation. , So suddenly had this final catastrophe catas-trophe come upon us that we had considerable con-siderable difficulty in assuring ourselves our-selves of its reality, and that it was not a dream a dream, alas! from which there might be no awakening. 1 So hour after hour passed darkly, slowly, and silently on. The turbulence of the wind and waves abated, the lightning passed away, the scud ceased to whirl, the vapors were divided in heaven, and a faint light that stole tremulous fy upward up-ward from the horizon served to indicate indi-cate the east and the dawn of the coming com-ing day. CHAPTER XXVI. Discover Land. . The following are the names of those wbo escaped with me in the longboat: long-boat: , Marc Hislop, mate. , Thomas Lambourne, second mate. Francis Probart, carpenter. John Thomas Burnett, ship's cook. Edward Carlton, i 1 Henry Warren. Hugh Chute. Matthew Hipkin. William Wilkins, usually called "Boy Bill." As the morning light came in there appeared to the southwestward a vast bank of mist or cloud, which shrouded half the sky and assumed a variety of beautiful tints when the rising sun shone on it yellow and saffron, deepening deep-ening into purple and blue as its masses changed in the contrary currents cur-rents of air; while to the eastward, in the quarter of the sun's ascension, the rippling ocean shone as if covered with tremulous and glittering plates of mingled min-gled gold and green, j A ration cf rum-and-water in equal ; proportions was now served round to each man, the leathern cover of a bung being our only cup, as we had omitted a drinking vessel among our j hastily collected stores. Half of a bis-I bis-I cult given to each constituted our break'ast, and with hope dawning with the day in our hearts we shipped our oars and pulled stoutly toward the west. and confirmed. Exclamations of joy now broke from us, and we congratulated each other on making the land so soon and so unexpectedly, without enduring the miseries which so frequently fall to the lot of those who are cast away, as we were, in an open boat, at sea. "But what land is it?" was the general gen-eral inquiry. Another allowance if grog was served serv-ed round; the oars were again shipped, we bent our backs and breasts sturdily to the task, and at every stroke almost al-most lifted the boat clean out of the shining water in our eagerness to reach this suddenly discovered shore. This had such au effect upon Marc Hislop that, though weak and sinking as he had been, be begged that he might be allowed to steer the boat a little way, while Tom Lambourne kept a bright lookout ahead, to watch for any ripple or surf that might indicate the locality of a treacherous coral reef, as such might prove dangerous to a large aud heavily laden craft like ours. With every stroke of the bending oars the land seemed to rise higher and more high. Ere long we could make out its form clearly. It was bold, rocky and mountainous, and as the mist dispersed dispers-ed or rose upward into mid air, we could see the dark brown of the bluff, and some trees " strarrp aspect, with drooping foliage on its summit, were clearly defined, as they stood between us and the blue sky beyond. We soon made out distinctly that it was a large island. The shore was somewhat level to the northeast, and in the center towered an almost perpendicular per-pendicular mountain of vast height, the sides of which seemed covered with furze, gorse and brushwood. Elsewhere its dusky and copper-col-j ored rocks started sheer out of the sea, whose waters formed a zone of snow-white surf around their base We headed the boat to the northeast, north-east, where the shore seemed more approachable, ap-proachable, and as we pulled along it but keeping fully three miles off, we saw high crags, deep ravines, shady woods and dells in the interior, though no appearance of houses, f wigwams or of inhabitants. Many speculations were now ventured ven-tured as to ,vhat island this might be May it not be land that has never be ore beea discovered?" I suggested, M h a Sl0- f Pleasure, in the antl i-pation i-pation of being among the first to tread an unexplored and hitherto unknown un-known shore. Hislop smiled and shook his head. South rLWBrrr,- wh0 lu,d old was the m W lU'er' suKKtl that It as the Island Cramio, but Hislop a8- |
