2io THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



Fortunately, Mr. Charles Hedley, of Sydney, the distinguished stu- 

 dent of coral reefs, had in a measure prepared us for disappointment 

 and had kindly told us of the clear blue ocean water and rich coral 

 reefs surrounding the Murray Islands 120 miles from Thursday Island, 

 within 5 miles of the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef and 75 miles 

 south of the coast of New Guinea. 



To the Murray Islands therefore we saw we must go with all speed, 

 a feat, however, somewhat easier to plan that to accomplish, for in the 

 intervening region were hundreds of uncharted coral reefs, and of all 

 the fleet of schooners at anchor in Thursday Island harbor but one 

 would venture to undertake the hazard of the voyage. 



No sooner did the owner of this daring craft agree to take us, how- 

 ever, than he and his vessel disappeared in the night, leaving us stranded 

 upon Thursday Island. 



In response to kind letters of introduction from the British Am- 

 bassador Lord Bryce, the officers of the Australian government were 

 most cordial in their efforts in our behalf, and never did we appreciate 

 their generous aid more deeply than in the present emergency, for at 

 the request of the Honorable W. M. Lee-Bryce, Esq., resident of 

 Thursday Island, Messrs. Arthur and Hockings permitted the use of 

 their power, schooner Kestrel to transport Messrs. Clark, Grosse, Harvey, 

 Potts and Tennent to Darnley Island only 25 miles from the Murray 

 Islands. 



In the meantime, Mr. Mills and the director of the expedition set 

 out to sea in a small launch to search for the truant schooner which we 

 finally found snugly anchored in the lee of the peak of a beautiful palm- 

 clad island within 25 miles of Endeavor Strait. 



The "recapture" of the schooner was speedily effected and soon we 

 were scudding over the waters toward the elusive Murray Islands. Our 

 crew were black, very black, and each man's nose was pierced so as to 

 confer as romanesque an outline as it is possible to attain with an 

 originally negroid nasal organ. Moreover, the captain's ears were 

 slashed and torn in a manner to delight the heart of a rat-catching 

 terrier. His weather-beaten face bore many a scar, and one. eye seemed 

 to have seen better days, but more perfect discipline one never saw 

 maintained upon a schooner than that enforced by our erstwhile head- 

 hunting commander. They sprang to obey his almost whispered orders 

 with an alacrity that would have done credit to the crew of a man-of-war. 



Without chart or compass we sailed over a sea marked " dangerous " 

 on the maps we might have had but chose to dispense with. 



Each day we threaded our way among the intricate passages between 

 jagged coral reefs, keeping in the deep blue between the patches of 

 emerald-green edged with foaming breakers; and always the steady 

 southeast trade wind urged us onward. At night, we lay at anchor close 



