Part 43 (1/2)

Three days after the gale we hove-to off three small islands surrounded by a reef Brown, Miles Soper, two Africans and the New Zealander, the second mate and I, were sent on shore to catch turtle We hauled the boat up and waited till the evening, at which tis

Darkness approached, and we concealed ourselves behind so Presently one landed, and crawled slowly up the beach Sa as the boat She was certainly an enormous creature Then another and another ca away in the sand to s

We waited till some thirty or forty had come ashore

”Now is your ti the handspikes hich ere arot between them and the sea, and turned thes, unable tothe them on board We had turned a dozen or o we first saw land”

She and the other turtles still on their feet, had taken the alar down the beach We made her out and attempted to turn her, but that was more than we could do

”She'll be off,” cried Jiht of a rope over her head

”Hold on, Peter!” he cried; and he and I atte for help, for she was getting closer and closer to the water At last in she got, dragging us after her We could not stop her before, and there was very little chance of our doing so now

”Let her go, Jim,” I cried out

”We shall lose the rope,” he answered, still holding on

We were already up to our o!” I cried out, ”or we shall be dragged away to sea!”

Supposing that he would do as I told hio at the saed away out of his depth

I swa loudly Presently Soper and Sa, dashed into the water Our united strength, however, could not stop the turtle, and Sa it, cut the rope, and we got Ji the rope, though Brown and the rest declared that he had behaved very pluckily, and that if help had come in time we should have saved the turtle As it e had turnedbeen ordered not to atteht, we turned the boat up and slept under it, while a couple of hands remained outside to watch the turtles and see that they did not ain and escape

In thewe loaded the boat, and pulled back with our prizes

Theabout the lost rope, as he knew the notion Brown and the rest had forhted after this several small islands, and then ood place for landing, sent a boat ashore with the doctor andturtle

It seenificent trees, and birds flying about in nu them

”This is a perfect paradise,” said the doctor, as we approached the beach

Just then a nu out fro clubs and spears They were the ugliest set of people I ever saw, their bodies nearly naked and their heads covered with hair frizzled out like huge mops They had also bows at their backs, but they did not point their arrows at us

The doctor and st them, so we lay on our oars while the mate held up bottles and bits of iron hoops, beads and knives, and a few old clothes, to show them that ished to trade After a considerable time they see away returned with nu tails We ns that only those anted to tradeinto the water bringing their birds They set a high price on theht a dozen or so As the rest of the people behaved in as threatening awas over we pulled off, not wishi+ng to risk an encounter with them

The doctor said that the birds were birds of paradise, and that they were such as the ladies of England wore in their hats The curious thing was that none of the birds had feet

”Of course not,” said the second mate, when I pointed this out to him; ”they say that the birds come down from the skies and live in the air, and as they never perch, they don't want feet That's why they're called birds of paradise”