Here the crimson flowers of the caper plant, the white flowers of the tea plant, and the rich blossoms of the clove tree, perfumed the air and promised a fragrant harvest.

This was a charming caravansary, all ready with its smiles to welcome the illustrious colonists as soon as they presented themselves.
These points being settled to the satisfaction of the three pioneers, a sheep was taken on board the pinnace at the request of Willis--who seemed to have taken a violent fancy for mutton chops--and they set sail towards the east.
In the first instance they made for a projecting head-land that seemed to bar their progress in that direction, and, much to the astonishment of the Pilot, they entered a cavern that formed the entrance to a natural tunnel.

This, besides being an interesting feature in the coast scenery, was one of the treasures of the colony, for it contained vast quantities of edible birds' nests, so much prized by the Chinese.

The voyagers did not, however, tarry here; these were not the objects they were now in search of.

Nautilus Bay and the Bay of Pearls were likewise traversed unheeded, nor could the attractive banks of the St.John, fringed with verdant foliage, divert them from the project they had in contemplation.
Wise men, when they indulge in folly, are often more foolish than real fools; so it was with Willis: now that he had joined in the scheme, he evinced more ardor in its execution than the young men themselves.