"The probabilities of another vessel touching here are small, are they not?" "We are not in the direct track to anywhere; therefore, unless a ship has been driven out of her course by a gale, there is not a chance." "Unfortunate that I am!" exclaimed Becker, covering his face with his hands. "Brutus, Manlius Torquatus, and Peter the Great, condemned their sons to death, but they were guilty; still the sacrifice must be made." Here Willis stared aghast, and began to fear Becker's intellect had been affected by his troubles. "I do not exactly understand you, Mr. Becker." "Two of my sons have gone on before us; they were to embark in the canoe for Shark's Island, and wait for us there. I must have courage, and you also, Willis." This exordium did not tend to alter the Pilot's impression. They walked on for some time in silence towards the coast. "Do you know the latitude and longitude of this coast, Willis?" "Good!" thought the Pilot, "he has changed the subject." "Yes; we are in the South Sea, and no great distance from the line." "What continent is nearest us?" "We cannot be very far off the south coast of New Holland, or, as it is named in some charts, Australia. You know that the _Nelson_ hailed from Botany Bay, or Sydney, as the convict colony which the English Government has just founded there is called." "How far do you suppose we are from Sydney?" "Well, I should say, with a fair wind and a smart craft, Sydney is not above two months' sail, if so much." "Is the coast inhabited?" "Yes." "What character do the inhabitants bear?" "According to the Dutch sailors, who have been on the coast, they are the most plundering and lubberly set of rascals to be met with anywhere." "They are not acquainted with the use of fire-arms, are they?" "No not of fire-arms; but they have a machine of their own that they call a waddy, or something of that sort, which they throw like a harpoon; but the thing takes a twist in the air, and strikes behind them." "Is the coast accessible?" "No; it is fringed with reefs, and, in some places, the surf runs for miles out to sea." "The navigation along shore, then, is extremely perilous?" "Whatever can he be driving at?" thought Willis. "Yes; such a lee shore in a gale would terrify the Flying Dutchman himself." Here Becker shook his head dolefully, and they walked on a little further in silence. "What islands do you suppose are nearest us, Willis?" "I should say we are in or near the group marked in the chart Papuasia; beyond them is the territory of New Guinea, and a point to nor'ard are a whole nest of islands discovered by the celebrated buccaneer, Dampière." "And their inhabitants?" "Oh, some of them are pretty fair; but, taking them in the lump, they are a bad lot." "The islands to the west are those discovered by Cook, Vancouver, and Bougainville, are they not?" "They are marked Polynesia in the charts." "Do you know of any European settlements on these islands?"