Probably it was because of her youth and her romantic dreams of sea adventures that the prospect did not seem as appalling to Erica as it did to her elders. She had been born and brought up on one little sea island, and it could not be any great hardship, she reasoned, to spend even quite a long time on another more southern island, learning new ways of living, and the hitherto unknown thrill of exploring new country. “Your ship’s aground on a reef out there,” Captain Joy was saying to her father, when she listened to their conversation once more. “It’s a narrow shelf of coral that runs parallelin’ this shore o’ the bay. I’ve traced its course. But if the tide rises high enough to float her she’s only got to move a few feet to be in deep water again. O’ course my men and I will do all we can to help. Count on us as if we were part of your crew. And if she didn’t float at high tide this noon,” he added, thoughtfully, “there’s always flood tide at full moon, which will be in about ten days. There’ll be a pretty good chance o’ makin’ it then.” To all this Captain Eric could only assent, and keep his fears and worries to himself like the good seaman he was. He also accepted Captain Joy’s invitation to return to his camp on the other side of the island and share his breakfast. Erica and Lis, who pleaded anxiously to be allowed to go, too, were finally included in the party, while the sailors were sent back to the ship, to report to the mate, and to Sun Li, the morning’s astonishing discoveries. The eight men who had been saved from the wreck of the _Narwhal_ were all Nantucketers, most of them personally known to the Folgers, and their wondering delight and amazement when Captain Joy brought his guests through the jungle, by a path cleared from bay to ocean shore, can be more easily imagined than put into words. These shipwrecked mariners had almost given up hope of ever seeing their own island far to the north again, and here were old neighbors and a ship dropped right into their deserted bay from out of last night’s storm; and even though that ship was temporarily in difficulties, too, hope blazed once more brightly in their hearts. In excited voices, interrupting one another and crowding about Captain Eric and the younger Folgers, they promised their utmost in service and willing hands to do all that was humanly possible toward getting the _Sea Gull_ afloat. It was certainly a regular Odyssey of adventure that Erica and Lis poured into Sun Li’s interested and attentive ear later in the day, when they had returned to the clipper. Whereupon, roused surprisingly from his former indolent acceptance of his semi-invalid state, Sun Li suddenly demanded to be rowed ashore and carried over the jungle trail in his gorgeous sedan chair to visit the little encampment of the marooned sailors, and see for himself all that the excited boy and girl had so vividly described.