176 MYSTIC ISLES 



and compass and his watch, which was as good as a chro- 

 nometer. 



"We got into the boat at four o'clock. The boat had 

 been put into the water under the stern and made fast 

 by a rope to the taffrail. We chmbed out the spanker- 

 boom and shd down another rope. The seas were ter- 

 rific, and it was a mercy that we did not fall in. We 

 had to take a chance and jump when the boat came 

 under us. Last came the old man, and took the tiller. 

 He had the oars manned, and gave the order to let go. 

 That was a terrible moment for all of us, to cast loose 

 from the schooner, bad as she was. There we were all 

 alone in the middle of the ocean, bruised from the strug- 

 gle on deck, and almost dying from exhaustion and al- 

 ready hungry as wolves. In twenty-four hours we had 

 had only a cup of coffee and a biscuit. 



"It was very dark, and we had no light. We were, 

 however, glad to leave the El Dorado, because our suf- 

 fering on her for weeks had been as much as we could 

 bear. The last I saw of the schooner she was just a 

 huge, black lump on the black waters. We rose on a 

 swell, and she sank into a valley out of sight. 



"The captain spoke to us now: 'We have a good 

 chance for life,' he said. 'I have looked over the chart, 

 and it shows that Easter Island is about nine hundred 

 miles northeast by east. If we are all together in try- 

 ing, we may reach there.' 



"None of us had ever been to Easter Island, and 

 hardly any of us had ever heard of it. It looked like 

 a long pull there. All night the captain and the mate 

 took turns in steering, while we, in turn, pulled at the 

 oars. We did not dare put a rag of canvas on her, for 



