One of our officers, happening to come up on deck at this moment, thought he saw something black bobbing up and down in the water quite a distance off. On looking with the glass, it was found to be Mackey, with his bunch of clothes on his back, and almost ashore. A boat was immediately lowered and went in chase. Mackey espied it coming, and struck out manfully; as for dear life he swam, but it was of no avail. When nearly to the shore, he was taken and thrust into the bottom of the boat, brought on board, and put in irons. A ship’s company near us mounted their rigging and gave “three cheers for the man who attempted to swim ashore!” At 10 A.M. of that day we weighed anchor, and, with beautiful weather and a fine breeze, left the port of Talcahuana. CHAPTER X. Cruising.—Boats’-crew Watches.—Deserters by wholesale.—A large Reward.—Public Auction.—Juan Fernandez.—Peaches.—Robinson Crusoe’s Cave.—Fishing.—Ship “Java.”—Masa Fuero.—St. Felix.—St. Ambrose.—San Lorenzo.—Callao.—A Railroad. We were now fairly at sea again, cruising for whales. We were now, as is customary for whalemen alone while on cruising ground, standing “boats’-crew watches.” It will be recollected that in a former chapter we explained the “regular watches” of a ship’s company; but this is something entirely different. The ship’s company are now divided into _three_ equal portions, and each watch has only “four hours out” each night and “eight hours in,” instead of four and eight hours alternately, as in the regular watches. They are regulated so as to alternate them every night, and are generally “headed” or in charge of the boat-steerers. It was during one of these watches, on the morning of the 25th of March, that a boat-steerer and five foremast hands took the bow boat from off the cranes and deserted the ship. The boat-steerer who left was the one who headed the watch. It was blowing quite fresh from the southeast at the time, the ship standing to the westward under double-reefed topsails. The plot had probably been concocting for some days, as they took with them, in addition to most of their clothing, all the boat sails and a quantity of provisions and water, disabling the other boats by taking the “thole-pins” and hiding them. It was very rugged weather, and the experiment was dangerous, as the ship was going through the water about six knots. They succeeded, however, in getting clear. [Illustration: JUAN FERNANDEZ, FROM THE SEA.] As soon as their absence was discovered, all hands were called, sail made, and we tacked ship and stood in for the land, which was about one hundred and eighty miles distant. At daybreak the captain offered a reward of _one hundred dollars_ to the person who should first raise the boat from the masthead, but the reward was never claimed.