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 sight, lying low like a vast, half-submerged emerald. At its highest point it did not seem to rise much more than fifty feet out of the water, and the slope down to the sea was covered with tropical growth.

As the tide went down, the slope on the steamer's deck became more apparent, and Captain Peters reluctantly ordered all hands ashore in the boats.

"Gather together anything you want particularly," he said. "You never know when a gale is coming along here, and she may slip off suddenly, but I guess we 'll have more time than we care about to take things ashore. "

Two boats were lowered, and the men got into them with a strange collection of bundles and things. Among the articles Dave took were his binoculars.

The boats grounded on a silvery beach of sand which nestled in a little bay that looked more fairylike than anything Dave had seen in his