On the following morning, immediately after breakfast, I went ashore, taking with me my passengers and Cooper, the mate of the _Golden Gate_; and while Sir Edgar with his party made their way to the best hotel in the place, preparatory to the planning of an expedition which would permit of their seeing as much as possible of the beauties of the island during our stay there, Cooper and I sought out our respective consuls. Neither of them were difficult to find; and while I partook of a second breakfast with our hospitable British representative, I learnt from him--after telling him as much of my story as I deemed needful--that an Aberdeen ship had unfortunately driven ashore and gone to pieces there only a fortnight previously, and that her crew were then awaiting an opportunity to work their way home, the master and chief mate having already left for England _via_ San Francisco, in a steamer. Upon further inquiry I found that there were thirteen of the crew in all, namely, the second mate, steward, cook, and ten seamen. This suited me exactly; for, although there were more men than I really needed, we had accommodation for an even greater number in the _Esmeralda's_ roomy forecastle and deck-house. Moreover, I had had all that I wanted of such an unpleasant experience as that of being short-handed. I therefore determined to ship them all, if they were willing, and recompense myself for my recent hardships by enjoying the luxury of a fully manned ship. The men were easily found--were indeed on the lookout for me, having learned early in the morning that an English barque had arrived in the roadstead some time during the night--and upon interviewing them I learned that they were, one and all, most anxious to make a start for home. They were as quiet, sober, and steady-looking a crew as I could possibly desire to meet with, or have under me; I therefore shipped the whole of them, on the spot, and directed them to hold themselves in readiness to join the ship as soon as they should receive instructions from me to that effect. Meanwhile, Cooper had had an interview with his consul, the result of which was an arrangement that the crew of the _Golden Gate_ should land forthwith, as there were several American vessels in the port, and, consequently, ample facilities for despatching the men home. As a consequence of this the Americans left the _Esmeralda_ that same afternoon, while the new crew went on board and took up their quarters on the following morning.