Page:The crater; or, Vulcan's peak.djvu/289

 OR, VULCAN S PEAK. 49 news lo the crater, where he might expect still to arrive that evening. With this arrangement, therefore, the par ties separated, Betts beating back, through the channels of the Reef, and the governor leading off to the northward and westward, under short canvas; all of Waally s canoes, catamarans, &/c. following about a mile astern of him. CHAPTER IV. &quot; Nay, shrink not from the word &amp;lt; farewell ! As if twere friendship s final knell ; Such fears may prove but vain : So changeful is life s fleeting day, Whene er we sever hope may say, We part to meet again.&quot; BERNARD BARTON. THE Abraham went under short canvas, and she was just three days, running dead before the wind, ere she came in sight of Waally s islands. Heaving-to to-windward of the group, the canoes all passed into their respective harbours, leaving the schooner in the .offing, with the hos tages on board, waiting for the fulfilment of the treaty. The next day, Waally himself re-appeared, bringing with him Dickinson, Harris, Johnson, Edwards and Bright, the five seamen of the Rancocus that had so long been cap tives in his hands. It went hard with that savage chief to relinquish these men, but he loved his son even more than he loved power. As for the men themselves, language cannot portray their delight. They were not only rejoiced to be released, but their satisfaction was heightened on find ing into whose hands they had fallen. These men had all kept themselves free from wives, and returned to their co lour, that word being now more appropriate than colours, or ensign, unshackled by any embarrassing engagements. They at once made the Abraham a power in that part of the world. With twelve able seamen, all strong, athletic and healthy men, to handle his craft, and with his two VOL. II. 5