Erica ran into Lis at the head of the companionway, just preparing to descend. “I was looking for you, Ricky,” he said, excitedly. “Uncle Eric’s going ashore, and he told me we could go along if we wanted to. He says this island’s not on any of his charts, and he thinks it must be uninhabited. It seems there’s nothing we can do to get the _Sea Gull_ off her reef till the tide’s high—and then maybe we can’t. Nice prospect, huh?” “It’s—it’s _gorgeous_!” Erica retorted. “A real desert island—like those in the story books! I don’t care if the ship stays on the reef till next winter. Come on, Lis, let’s hurry so father won’t get away without us.” They found one of the clipper’s boats already in the water, manned by several sailors. As soon as the two appeared on deck, Captain Eric spied them and beckoned them to him. “So the early birds think they’ll catch a nice fat worm this morning,” he challenged them gayly. “What do you two youngsters expect to find, I wonder, on this pretty little green island we’ve bumped into in the night?” Erica made a gesture, arms flung wide, and shining eyes laughing up into his twinkling blue ones. “_Adventure_,” she announced, dramatically. Lis chuckled with his uncle, but by his eagerness to reach the boat, Erica knew his real thoughts were much the same as her own. A desert island sounded quite as thrilling to Lis as it did to her more impulsive self. Neither of the children wasted any time in clambering into the boat and taking their places in the stern. The sailors bent to their oars, and the little craft drove across the gently heaving green water toward the near-by land. The clipper had come to grief on a submerged reef in the very center of a small, partially landlocked bay. This natural harbor was long and narrow, widening at the ocean end, and with jungle-grown hillsides sloping down to the water’s edge on its other three sides. Evidently a strong current set inshore from the open sea beyond, and it was doubtless due to this that the _Sea Gull_ had been able to ride in safely on the breast of the storm, without dashing herself on either of the high headlands at the bay’s mouth. It was the hill on their right which had cut off the full force of the hurricane after they had entered the harbor. Even the waves in here were merely long, green, undulating swells that rolled gently against the narrow strip of beach and splashed a light pearly spray over the pinkish sand. There was no real surf, and the men had no difficulty in beaching the boat without shipping a drop of water. Captain Eric stepped ashore, and lifted his daughter from the boat to a dry patch of sand. Lis climbed hurriedly after them, and the three stood there a moment, looking out at the stranded _Sea Gull_, before turning to their proposed exploring of the island. And it was just at this moment, with all the dramatic effect of a scene on the stage, that the jungle bushes at their right parted suddenly and a man stepped into view.