They could not stay apart any more than the iron can keep from the magnet.
Finally Harrigan knew that they were nearing the end of their long journey.

The port was only a few days distant, for they were far in the south seas and they began to pass islands, and sometimes caught sight of green patches of water.

Those were the coral reefs, the terror of all navigators, for they grow and change from year to year.

To a light-draught ship like the _Mary Rogers_ these seas were comparatively safe, but not altogether.

Even small sailing craft had come to grief in those regions.
Yet the islands, the reefs, the keen sun, the soft winds, the singing of the sailors, all these things came dimly to Harrigan, for he knew that his powers of resistance were almost worn away.