Fortunately for our friends the sea was perfectly calm when they came to anchor, and there was no hinderance to their going on shore. The steamer was quickly surrounded by boats, and a bargain was made with one of them for transportation to land. The strong arms of the Arab boatmen sent the little craft spinning over the water; the oars rose and fell together as the men kept time by a song that was a trifle monotonous to the ears of Frank and Fred. But never mind its monotony; it carried the travellers from ship to shore, and every moment the walls of Jaffa became more and more distinct through its measured cadence. They seemed to be heading for some jagged rocks that jutted a little distance from the line of the shore. The sharp eyes of the boys discovered an opening in the rocks, and when the boat was within a few yards of it the men paused in obedience to a signal from the steersman. Then, watching the rise and fall of the waves, they dashed forward at the proper moment through the opening ten or twelve feet wide, and were borne into the smooth water of the little harbor. There is a wider entrance farther to the north, but it is rendered dangerous by several sunken rocks, and the narrow one is generally used by the boatmen. [Illustration: FRONT OF AN EASTERN SUMMER-HOUSE.] "This harbor is mentioned several times in Scripture," said Doctor Bronson, while the boatmen were waiting the proper moment to enter. "It was here that Hiram, King of Tyre, sent ships laden with wood from Lebanon for the use of King Solomon in building his temple at Jerusalem, and some of the apostles, when they went out to preach the gospel through the world, sailed away from Jaffa or Joppa, as it was then called. According to tradition, the prophet Jonah sailed from Joppa just before he was swallowed by the whale. And there is another tradition that Andromeda was chained to the rocks at the entrance of the harbor, in order that a sea-monster might devour her. The correctness of this latter tradition was maintained until the sixteenth century by the exhibition of the chains and rings by which she was held." [Illustration: ONE OF THE DRAGOMEN.] Doctor Bronson saved himself a wrangle with the boatmen by putting his party in the care of the _commissionnaire_ of the hotel where he was going, and asking him to arrange everything. This plan is advisable for all travellers arriving at Jaffa, and they are also recommended to pay no attention to the dragomen that crowd around them on the ship, and desire to make contracts for accompanying the strangers to Jerusalem. Wait till you get on shore, and don't make a bargain in a hurry.