In about a quarter of an hour they had very perceptibly neared the shore, which lay very low, and presented, at a closer view, more the appearance of a mud or sand-bank, with a few dwarfed trees and shrubs growing thereon, than an island in its accepted sense of the word; and shortly afterward Martin's voice came down from aloft in accents of excitement: "I see un, zir; there 'a be. 'Tes only one man, zir, so far as Ai can mek out, and 'a be a-waving of a red shirt, or zummat laike that, Ai think, zir." "Can you only see one man, Martin; or are there any more with him, think you?" shouted Cavendish. "Naw, zir," responded the old fellow; "as Ai zay, Ai can only zee one of 'em, and 'e do be a-carryin' on zumthing wonnerful, zir. 'E be a-jumpin' up an' down, and a-wavin' of his arms laike to one possessed. Ai expec's as how un belaives us 'aven't zeen un, an' wants to attrac' our attention." "Very well, Martin," answered the captain; "stay where you are, man," as he perceived the old fellow making preparations to descend, "stay where you are. Keep a sharp lookout, and let me know if anything further takes place, or if any more men make their appearance. "I expect, gentlemen," said the captain, turning to the assembled officers, "that there is only one man there; the others would have joined him by this time, had there been any more of them. In a way, I am sorry; for I could very well have done with a great many more men-- always provided, of course, that they had been Englishmen,--for we are, as you all know, very short-handed. This man is possibly the sole survivor of a shipwrecked crew; but, as there seems, so far as we can see at present, to be no trace of others being there, I should be more inclined to think that he has been marooned. Marooning is, of course, a very common practice, particularly among pirates, and, in my opinion, it is one of the most cruel forms of punishment ever conceived by the brain of man. Now, it has occurred to me as quite within the limits of possibility that this man ashore there may be a marooned member of the crew of that scoundrel, Jose Leirya. It would not be so very extraordinary, after all, if he were. Leirya is practically the only pirate at present in these seas, and we are all aware that marooning is practised chiefly among pirates. Should it happen to be as I somewhat suspect, the man will, at all events, know something worth telling us about that arch villain; for I shall never be happy until I have hunted the scoundrel down, and hanged him for the dog he is!" The captain's face blazed with righteous anger as he spoke, and his expression was reflected on the countenances of the officers gathered round him. It boded ill indeed for the pirate if ever the squadron should fall in with him.