lost, for they could never have picked me up in that sea. I was very frightened, and kept still for a while, but several more duckings made me recover courage, and I managed to stow the jib and make it fast. When I got back on deck, the girls were hammering and screaming to us to open the door and give them air; so I was set to watch the door and open it when I saw a chance. The girls insisted on coming on deck, but the King would not allow them, and pushed them in again with all his force. Meanwhile the wind and sea were rising, masses of water came over the decks, and the driving spray blinded us. The wild yawing of the boat became dangerous, but the King, who always got excited on such occasions, cried out, 'Carry on, boys! let her have it!' The eldest of the Creole boys, a cool-headed fellow, was steering with the utmost difficulty, and uttering warning grunts, when the boat yawed violently and threatened to run under. At last he called out, Better take in sail before we capsize,' and the King was just turning to abuse him for his fears, when our stern was lifted very high, the boat rushed ahead, and, running her bow under water up to the foremast, slewed round and fell on her side. In a moment the other Creole boy let go the halyards, the steersman left the tiller, and, diving into the water, let go the sail sheet. Down came the sail, and the boat righted just in time to save us from sinking.

The girls screamed so much that we became demoralized and frightened, and for a while the boat swashed violently in the trough of the sea, with her sail dragging in the water. I opened the door to comfort the girls, but they yelled and screamed, 'Oh, we will be drowned! let us out!' So I let them out, but the poor things were received with roars of 'Look out!' Hold on!''You'll be washed overboard!' 'Go below, quick!' So at last, entreating their brother not to put up sail, they went below again, and I shut their door. As I had stowed the jib, I was asked to go and loose it, and,

with my heart in my mouth, I crawled out to do so. Instead of being dipped head over heels in the sea, I was violently swayed from side to side this time by the rolling of the vessel, and had great difficulty in keeping my hold; but with one hand and my teeth I managed to loosen the sail, which was then hoisted, and, gathering in our mainsail, we bore off on

our course.

The day was now breaking, and sea and sky looked wild and threatening. Black clouds with squalls and driving rain were rolling up from the south-east, and the cold gray sea was covered with breaking waves and clouds of spray. No land was in sight, and we had no compass, but we knew our course in a general sort of way by the run of the waves, which we knew was east-south-east. We dragged along under jib only until day was clear, when we set a close-reefed mainsail, under which we got along well, though still yawing wildly as we ran before the sea; but our oldest Creole boy was a firstrate hand at steering, and not at all apt to get alarmed.

Towards mid-day, finding we were quite safe, we opened the girls' door and let them out, giving them a rope to hold on by. We then cautiously opened the main hatch, and brought out a pot of boiled cassava and turtle meat, prepared for us the day before by the Duckwarra women. We made a comfortable breakfast, and sailing on till 2 p.m., we saw through the rain the trees to the north of the Cape. We therefore hauled our wind and bore to the southward, and soon saw the ghastly line of breakers surrounding the entrance to the harbour. We did not like the look of the surf on the bar, so we brought up head to wind, and considered the subject, and in this state of suspense we made two tacks out and in again. We then saw a canoe with a strong crew, dancing on the crest of the breakers at one moment, and disappearing out of sight the next. Before long we saw that the canoe was outside the breakers and

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rapidly approaching, driven by the paddles of eight men. When they came alongside we saw that the crew of strong Mosquito men, with nothing on but shirts of calico and loincloths of toonoo, were wet through, and panting with the exertion of paddling against wind and sea. They said they had been sent by Mr. Haly, an old resident and magistrate of the Cape settlement, to show us the way in. We asked them what they thought of it, but all they would say was, 'Siapia ooyasi' (There are heavy breakers). We asked could they get back in again in the canoe. 'Yes,' they said, 'we can get in all right.' We then asked them to take the King's sisters ashore and we would follow them in the craft. So we transferred the girls, who certainly seemed to show more confidence in eight stalwart Mosquito men and a big empty canoe than in our stylish but cranky yacht.

As soon as the canoe was gone, we took a turn or two, approaching the breakers and then standing out, all the time watching the canoe, which when close to the surf rested a while, looking out for the smallest seas. Then we saw them make for the breakers and disappear among the seething. waters. Presently we saw them high on the top of a roller, but between them and us we saw an immense toppling wave which immediately burst into a white mass. The King looked on, speechless with fear, while our old quatmus exclaimed, 'Alai yaptum!' (Oh, mother!). It seemed to us that they were upset, it was so long before we could see them. At last we saw them rise on a breaker a long way in, and knew they were safe.

We had now to decide what we should do. The King wanted to set full sail and run in; but wiser counsels prevailed. Our cool-headed Creole boy urged that we could not sail in, as she would not steer with her stern in the air, and if she broached to she would certainly roll over; and as to

pulling in with the sweeps, it was not to be thought of. She would take a run with the breaker and broach to, and it would be all up with us. So we reluctantly put to sea close hauled, and passed a weary night beating about, plunging bows under, and all wet to the skin. The wind and sea rapidly subsided, and next day we sailed in comfortably.

CHAPTER XX:

Gracias à Dios-Turtle-tax hunting-The King's second sister-Up the Wanx River.

IN the time of Columbus, and for 250 years afterwards, the harbour of Cape Gracias à Dios was a fine lagoon, enclosed by a sandspit from all winds, and with water enough for the largest ships. About 1740 the English settlers, with their slaves, had brought much of the land under cultivation, and there was a large trade in sugar and other productions. The cultivated land was on the banks of the Wanx River, which flowed into the sea 6 or 8 miles north of the harbour, and the sugar had to be brought in lighters out of the river, round by the sea, and into the harbour. To avoid the delays and inconvenience of such a transit, the settlers, assisted by the Government of Jamaica, cut a canal from the river to the harbour. The river gradually worked its way through the canal, and very soon the whole of it was flowing into the harbour, which was entirely silted up, and a shallow bar formed across the former deep entrance.

One may have an idea of the perplexities which beset the engineer who studies nature in his efforts to make artificial harbours, from the fact that about 1866 the harbour of Greytown did exactly the opposite to that at the Cape. It was formerly a fine deep lagoon, enclosed by a sand spit from all winds, with the San Juan River, which drains Lake Nicaragua, running into it. A small creek, called the