[Footnote 1: An article of luxury among the Chinese consisting of the dried bodies of Holothuria or sea-cucumber. They are found nearly buried in the coral sand, their feathered tentacula alone floating above it. Beche de mer is extremely gelatinous, and is much used by the Chinese as an ingredient in rich soups.] When about three miles from Ambow the wind died out, and as night was coming on the natives refused to proceed, despite my entreaties, so we landed on a small island and spent the night. Next morning we got under way and arrived at Ovalau about noon. I found the white man who lived with David Whippey and he told me that David had gone to one of the neighboring islands, but would be back the next day and that he was waiting for me to go to the ship. The next day David returned, but as it was late in the afternoon we decided to wait until the following morning. It was now about a year since I had seen David and we spent the night very pleasantly. Early in the morning the chief's double canoe was launched and prepared for the voyage. We made sail, having about twenty natives for crew and six of us passengers--three whites and three of the brig's crew who belonged to the island of Yap, one of the Caroline islands. (After the mutiny they attached themselves to David and had been with him ever since.) We ran this day about fifty miles N. E. and arrived before sunset at the island of Booyar, where we stopped at a small village tributary to Ovalau. Here we learned that the ship was at anchor at Myambooa bay and that the captain had been trading at the islands before. The natives brought us provisions as usual. They seemed to be a poor tribe. Their houses were small and poorly built. We were detained here by head winds for three days, which to me seemed a month, so impatient was I to reach the ship and anxious lest she might leave before we could get there. On the fourth day the wind and weather were favorable and we started for Myambooa. As we neared the mouth of the bay we discovered a canoe steering for us, and supposing it to be enemy we immediately prepared for action. Our muskets were loaded and the natives bent their bows, but on their drawing near we saw it was an Ambow canoe that had been to the ship, and that she had a well-dressed white man and one of the Manila men on board.