OUR ISLANDS 165 



teen of the rather highly flavored water which was 

 the best the condensers could distill completed our 

 modest ideas of a picnic, and even before the early 

 breakfast hour the fussy sputter of the outboard 

 motor was profaning the crystal stillness of the 

 bay. A grey sky slowly burned to blue at the 

 zenith, while all round the horizon streaks of color 

 brightened and faded. The smooth grey water 

 looked so solid that the boat's prow seemed to carve 

 a way through a leaden sheet that fell back in long 

 wrinkles. 



Our splashy landing on a submerged ledge did 

 not even wake a half -grown sea-lion from his 

 beauty sleep and with a sympathy in our hearts 

 born of many reluctant risings of our own, we left 

 him in peace. The receding gasps of the motor 

 were swallowed up in the vast quiet, and as the 

 first cool sunlight touched our Terra Incognita, 

 we sat on a patch of scanty grass to breakfast, and 

 tossed crumbs and crusts to a perky mockingbird 

 and a big scarlet crab that hopped and sidled round 

 us. 



Near at hand were tide-pools where tiny bright 

 fishes hurried about and maroon-and-pink ane- 

 mones closed flabbily over my intruding fingers. 

 Following the northern shore, we climbed along a 

 rapidly rising series of huge steps roughly formed 

 of crumbled rocks and reddish, friable earth. Over 

 the edge of the cliffs we could catch glimpses of cosy 

 homes tucked away in miniature caves or on hol- 

 lowed ledges, where fork-tailed gulls and noddy 

 terns were bringing up their families, and cocking 



