Part 7 (1/2)

After obtaining so his appetite, he went to the su out at sea

His eye swept the whole circuit of the horizon without seeing any thing, until at length he turned to look in a ardly direction where the island spread out before hiht met his eyes

The mound at the other end had becoed On the previous day it had preserved its usual shape, but noas no longer sular, the northern end being still a sort of hillock, but the middle and southern end was flat on the surface and dark in color From the distance at which he stood it looked like a rock, around which the sand had accumulated, but which had been uncovered by the violent storht

At that distance it appeared like a rock, but there was so in its shape and in its position which made it look like a shi+p which had been cast ashore The idea was a startling one, and he at once dismissed it as absurd But the rew until at last, unable to endure this suspense, he hurried off in that direction

During all the time that he had been on the island he had never been close to the hborhood of the rock, and had never thought that a barren sand hillock orthy of a visit But now it appeared a very different object in his eyes

He walked on over half the intervening distance, and now the reserew more close It was still too far to be seen very distinctly: but there, even from that distance, he saw the unmistakable outline of a shi+p's hull

There was now scarcely any doubt about this There it lay Every step only made it more visible He walkedby what strange chance this vessel could have reached its present position

There it lay It could not by any possibility have been cast ashore on the preceding night The htiest billows that ever rose from ocean could never have lifted a shi+p so far upon the shore To hi time, and that the sand had been heaped around it by successive storarded more closely the formation of this western end He saw the low northern point, and then the cove where he had escaped from the sea He noticed that the southern point where the mound was appeared to be a sort of peninsula, and the theory suggested itself to him by which he could account for this wonder This shi+p, he saw,before upon this island

As the shore was shallow it had run aground and stuck fast in the sand

But successive stor sands which the waters were constantly driving about had gathered all around it higher and higher At last, in the course of tiathered about this obstacle till a new bank had been formed and joined to the island; and the winds had lent their aid, heaping up the loose sand on high till all the shi+p was covered But last night's storm had to some extent undone the work, and now the wreck was once more exposed

Brandon was happy in his conjecture and right in his theory All who know any thing about the construction and nature of sand islands such as this are aware that the winds and waters work perpetual changes The best known example of this is the far-famed Sable Island, which lies off the coast of Nova Scotia, in the direct track of vessels crossing the Atlantic between England and the United States Here there is repeated on a far larger scale the hich Brandon saw on Coffin Island Sable Island is twentyand about one in width--the crest of a vast heap of sand which rises out of the ocean's bed Here the wildest storht-house have but little shelter Not long ago an enor-staff was torn from out its place and hurled away into the sea In fierce storms the spray drives all across, and it is impossible to venture out But most of all, Sable Island is famous for the melancholy wrecks that have taken place there Often vessels that have the bad fortune to run aground are broken up, but soathers about them and covers them up There are numerous mounds here which are known to conceal wrecked shi+ps Some of these have been opened, and the wreck beneath has been brought to view Soale these sandy mounds are torn away and the buried vessels are exposed

[Illustration: ”GREAT HEAVENS!” CRIED BRANDON, STARTING BACK--”THE 'VISHNU!'”]

Far away in Australia Brandon had heard of Sable Island from different sea captains who had been in the Atlantic trade The stories which these ed with the supernatural One in particular who had been wrecked there, and had taken refuge for the night in a hut built by the British Government for wrecked sailors, told soro aked hiht and nearly killed hihts in his mind Brandon approached the wreck and at last stood close beside it

It had been long buried The hull was about two-thirds uncovered A vast heap of sand still clung to the bow, but the stern stood out full in view Although ittime the planks were still sound, for they seemed to have been preserved fro, however, had becoaped widely There were no masts, but the lower part of the shrouds still re So deeply was it buried in the sand, that Brandon, from where he stood, could look over the whole deck, he hi almost on a level with the deck The one The hold appeared to be filled with sand, but therebeneath Part of the planking of the deck as well as most of the taffrail on the other side had been carried away

Astern there was a quarter-deck There was no skylight, but only dead-lights set on the deck The door of the cabin still res Brandon took in at a glance A pensiveof pity for the inani By a natural curiosity he walked around to the stern to see if he could read her name

The stern was buried deep in the sand He had to kneel to read it

On the side nearest hi on the opposite side He went over there and knelt down There were four letters still legible and part of a fifth These were the letters:

VISHN

”Great Heavens!” cried Brandon, starting back--”the _Vishnu!_”

CHAPTER VI

THE DWELLER IN THE SUNKEN shi+P

After a moment of horror Brandon walked away for a short distance, and then turning he looked fixedly at the wreck for a long time

Could this be indeed _the_ shi+p--_the Vishnu_? By what marvelous coincidence had he thus fallen upon it? It was in 1828 that the _Vishnu_ sailed from Calcutta for Manilla Was it possible for this vessel to be preserved so long? And if so, how did it get here?