"No, I have only seen the tops of five or six islets.

There is nothing but stone heaps there--not a single island!" As the schooner approached we easily recognized these fragments of the group, which had been almost entirely destroyed on its western side.

The scattered remains formed dangerous reefs which might seriously injure the keel or the sides of the _Halbrane_, and there was no intention of risking the ship's safety among them.

We accordingly cast anchor at a safe distance, and a boat was lowered for the reception of Captain Len Guy, the boatswain, Dirk Peters, Holt, two men and myself.

The still, transparent water, as Peters steered us skilfully between the projecting edges of the little reefs, allowed us to see, not a bed of sand strewn with shells, but heaps which were overgrown by land vegetation, tufts plants not belonging to the marine flora that floated the surface of the sea.
Presently we landed on one of the larger islets which rose to about thirty feet above the sea.
"Do the tides rise sometimes to that height ?" I inquired of the captain.
"Never," he replied, "and perhaps we shall discover some remains of the vegetable kingdom, of habitations, or of an encampment." "The best thing we can do," said the boatswain, "is to follow Dirk Peters, who has already distanced us.