It was Jim, as usual, who first caught sight of it, and Dave looked at it for a long time through the binoculars, full of wonder and hope. Either they were doomed to disappointment or this was the mysterious place that they had struggled so persistently to reach. “I’d give something to know just what happened to the _Firefly_ in that gale,” he said, turning to Tempest. “So would I,” was the reply. “They had their full share of it, you may be certain, but, as we weathered it, it’s most likely that they did the same unless an unlucky wave flopped on board and foundered them.” “If that is Lost Island, I suppose we shall soon have a fair idea what happened to Joe Flagg,” said Dave. “You can wager your last cent on that. If they haven’t got ashore there by now they never will step ashore anywhere on this earth. It’ll be a comical situation, anyway, to meet them. I can almost hear Flagg already saying ‘Dear me, what a surprise! Now, when I was in Dogtooth City――’” Another hour brought the _Nautilus_ so close that it was possible to get a fair notion of the island’s appearance through the glasses. Both Dave and Tempest were filled with suppressed excitement. There certainly was a prominent hill there, which might have been cast up by volcanic action, but from where they lay it bore no resemblance to either a camel or any other animal. Dave spoke of that fact in disappointed tones. “Shucks! What of it?” said Tempest encouragingly. “You don’t know where the lagoon is yet, if there is one there. Probably you can’t see the resemblance except from that side. Patience, sonny. It is early yet to give up hope. Wait till we get closer in and then we will make a little trip right round the place on the look-out for zoological specimens like camels.” There were many dangerous rocks, some of them only half submerged, when they got within a mile of the coast, making navigation a hazardous business. Tempest placed Jim in the bow on the look-out for snags, and decided to beat his way round the northern point of the island. More than once a warning shout from the Kanaka only just saved them from tearing out the bottom of the _Nautilus_ on a jagged peak; and it was a relief when they got round to the western side to find the water there clear of such death-traps. All the time Dave’s eyes were glued on the crag-strewn hill, on which he sought feverishly to distinguish something remotely resembling a camel. “Gee,” exclaimed Tempest at last, “if there isn’t a lagoon down there I’ll eat my hat! We shall be able to make sure on that point soon, anyway.” “The camel, Tempest! The camel!” Dave shouted a few minutes later as they got farther to the south. “Don’t you see it?” “It’s a funny sort of camel,” the other commented with a dry smile. “Wait till we get a bit down the coast. It may show up a little clearer then.”