I .sx THE sails of the ship first showed above the horizon like three little tablets carved from mother-of-pearl .sx They glistened with a faint and filmy sheen , so nearly blended with the band of white light which ran as a seam between the blue of the sky and the olive-green of the waters , so like in tint to the shreds and puff-balls of cloud that drifted steadily along this silver strip as to be but barely discernible as the topsails of a vessel .sx When Aloysius saw them , they were far away on the starboard quarter .sx He paddled hard , his arms going like piston-rods , maintaining a course which he hoped would intercept that of the ship .sx His sail ballooned nobly in the steady breeze , which set the scarf he had tied to the mast-head blowing directly eastwards , and , under the combined forces , the dinghy squattered at a good pace over the long , smooth swells .sx In this fine sailing-wind , the ship came up fast .sx Soon she was disclosed as a full-rigger , approaching in all the high pomp and majesty of her kind .sx When all her sails had risen above the margin of the sea , they soared like the triple , pyramidal , snow-clad hills of a fantastic island , or of a berg , miraculously drifted to display its clear-cut frigidities as a cameo against the intensities of tropic sky and ocean .sx She was a lovely thing .sx Aloysius was three days out from the island .sx He had paddled and sailed in a very happy frame of mind .sx Nothing had given him cause for anxiety ; the weather had been uniformly fair , there was always a steady breeze , which had never become strong enough to raise more than .sx a gentle swell , and had not ceased to blow from a direction which he hoped was favourable .sx He had sufficient water and fruit to last him for many days yet ; he sat upon cushions as he paddled or idly steered , slept luxuriously upon them , wrapped in blankets , under a sky that dripped with a silver rain of stars ; and he had the last of the schooner's books , Gulliver's Travels , to finish .sx It was like a yachting-cruise .sx Having no compass , he was naturally by no means sure of his course .sx But the sun rose in a line with the mouth of the creek on the island , so he had set off with some indication of an easterly direction .sx The island was still faintly in sight on the evening of the first day , for the wind had been too gentle to help him greatly during the earlier hours ; so he was able to take a line on a big star which hung on the horizon , and at sunrise to correct his course again .sx He steered east , because when the Wanderer had blown up , she was nine days out from San Francisco ( on the voyage to Sydney ) , having had none too favourable winds , so that he thought it better to paddle and sail the thousand miles or so towards the known , rather than Heaven only know what distance towards problematic shores .sx He was perhaps a little daunted when a rough calculation showed that to cover this distance would take a matter of weeks , even in the most favourable circumstances .sx However , he soon regained his cheerfulness , feeling sure that a ship would pick him up long before all that time had elapsed .sx " And there she was , " he said .sx " And I no more than three days on my cruise .sx Read all the adventure-books you like , and you won't find a happier castaway than Aloysius O'Callaghan was , or more fortunate , snakes and cannibals and gorilla-men and haunted schooners , all included .sx But of course I was glad enough to see that ship .sx rise up over the edge of the world .sx For , in spite of all my comforts , it was a very empty world ; only sea and sky and occasional clouds , while on the island there had been living creatures , the woods and the hills , the various occupations with which I passed the days , to break the monotony .sx And it seemed as though I had lived for years without speech with a human being .sx I had looked forward , with a touch of vanity , to the first meeting of myself and other men ; picturing the admiring crowd , as I flapped in through the Golden Gate and up to the wharves , a grand young adventurer calmly paddling in from the back of beyond , with his wonderful boat and comic , old-fashioned hat .sx As a matter of fact , it is more likely I would have flapped in through quite another Golden Gate in the end .sx Anyway , my vanity was quite satisfied with the impression I made on those who brought my voyage to such an early finish .sx " The ship must have presented a fine sight from the little boat which rose and fell under her lee .sx Her shadow would fall upon the water , so as to turn it to a shade of violet along the water-line , and a cool draught would be deflected downward as the sails emptied and half-filled .sx The canvas would shiver and slat , fluttering with soft , little explosive bursts ; there would be a gentle sough of wind high up among the spars and stays , the tat-tatting of ropes , and rattle of chains and blocks .sx She would rise and fall upon the long , smooth waves , rising with the regular , slow rhythm of a rocking-horse , seeming to forge ahead , yet , like the toy whose motion hers resembled , ever sliding back again ; falling with sufficient weight to deck the feet of her figure-head with white roses of foam , lancing the deep green with her dolphin-striker, .sx saluting the blue heaven with lifts of the flaring jib-boom .sx To the young adventurer sitting there in his strange craft , which had the .sx appearance of a fat water-beetle moving tentatively in the shadow of the ship's immensity , she looked ( as he said ) like a cathedral come up out of the sea , a lofty pile of white marble , all flying-buttresses , cupolas and spires .sx He removed his remarkable hat and waved it .sx The men who lined the bulwarks raised their hands and cheered ; an officer , who leaned over the poop-rail , waved , and shouted , " Ay , ay , my lad !sx Stand by for a line !sx " " I was always a bit of a young artist , " said Aloysius ; " so what must I do but stand up and bow , which made them cheer again and set them laughing .sx Then I paddled proudly along to where a man with a rope stood in the chains .sx Hands were stretched out to help me aboard , they clapped me on the back , and as I stepped on to the deck there was a regular cross-fire of questions and ejaculations , `Well , I swan !sx where in thunder air yew bound from , sonny ?sx ' `Look at 'is funny 'at !sx ' `What dockyard was your craft built at , young feller ?sx ' and so on .sx " Those friendly seamen were as delighted as a child with a new toy .sx One of them affectionately held me by the arm as they ran me aft to the group which stood at the break of the poop .sx In all conscience , the last few months had given me a sufficient dose of romantic incidents and strange sights , one might have thought , to inoculate me against surprise at anything new and extraordinary ; yet , had I not been so firmly impelled towards that incredible collection of people by the pulls and pushes of my enthusiastic rescuers , I believe I should have stopped and rubbed my eyes , believing myself in a fantastic dream .sx " The green-painted woodwork , set with doors , behind them , the gilt-edged scroll of royal blue which bore in gold letters the musical name Spirit of Nevada , the bright , narrow streak of light , stretching , like a row of footlights,between the shadow in which they stood and the quivering , less intense patch of shade cast by the mainsail , gave this peculiar band the appearance of being grouped upon a stage .sx The captain was normal enough :sx a fair , kindly-looking , but precise man , with a pointed beard and curly moustaches .sx But the others were as impossible as they were real .sx Towering over the captain , who himself was a tall man , was a giant , every bit as tall as the enormous savage I had seen on the island .sx He wore a frock-coat , and his high silk hat accentuated his height .sx Next to him stood a man with a rosy-complexioned , babyish face , who would have made half-a-dozen Bogelmanns and still have had the body of an ordinary person to spare ; his advertised weight , indeed , was forty-five stone , so he was well-named Colosso .sx By him were the most perfect miniature pair imaginable ; they were like toys , not above perhaps an inch over three feet tall , and dressed up to the nines ; the woman in a velvet dress with laces and jewellery , the man in evening-dress with a gold albert that looked as heavy on him as a mayor's chain .sx I thought they had nasty , little peevish faces .sx Then there was a horrible , skeleton of a creature , in a pepper-and-salt suit ; his head looked like a fleshless skull under the billy-cock hat ; I expected to hear him rattle at any moment .sx Just beyond this thing , for I could scarcely believe it to be alive , was what appeared to be a man in woman's clothes ; at any rate , he , she , or it , had a beard down to the waist , stood with arms folded and one foot advanced , and looked most extraordinary of all ; the eyes being mild in the shadow of the wide brim of the feathered hat , the complexion femininely delicate , the line of the upper lip , which was hairless , the same ; and then there came the sweeping , soft , brown beard .sx To complete this galaxy of charmers , a dreadful little creature crouched on the deck .sx in isolation , to the left .sx It was huddled in a red and black-striped blanket , had a long peaked head , like an inverted pear , entirely bald , and , except for its sad eyes , which had the tearful look of a spaniel's , possessed features similar to those of a coconut .sx It shook and shivered and quaked all over , never ceasing , the head nodding violently , as though on a wire .sx Such was the strange reception committee to which my rescuers introduced me .sx Above them it was a relief to see an ordinary human figure , in that of a burly , whiskered mate , who leaned over the poop-rail , regarding my approach with a quizzical smile .sx " The captain came forward .sx He put a hand on young O'Callaghan's shoulder in a kindly way , and laughed .sx " It's all right , boy , " he said ; " they don't bite ; except each other , sometimes .sx Well , now then :sx where on earth do you come from , and what in tarnation set you paddling about in mid-Pacific , calm as if you were on a yachting-trip , in this way , young feller ?sx " " I was on a desert-island , sir , " said Aloysius .sx " A desert-island ?sx Oho !sx " says the captain , with a jolly laugh .sx " Regular young Robinson Crusoe the second !sx Well , we'll hear your yarn in a minute .sx First of all that boat .sx Is she pretty sound ?sx Do you want her , or shall we let her go ?sx If she's sound you might get twenty dollars or so for her in San Filipo , to give you a start ashore , youngster .sx Well , a dinghy's no good to me , but I'll take her on board , if you like .sx Now then .sx " " Pardon me , Captain Littler , " a high-pitched , deliberate , nasal voice interposed .sx The speaker came from behind Aloysius , who had vaguely noticed him , on the way aft , as leaning over the bulwarks , no doubt examining the dinghy .sx He was a tall , slim man , dressed in check trousers , tucked into high boots , a claw-hammer-tailed coat of black , a narrow red .sx tie , and sombrero hat .sx His features were thin and aquiline , very brown with sunburn , and he wore a tuft of beard on the chin .sx On the whole , he bore a strong resemblance to the Uncle Sam of the cartoonist , and perhaps cultivated it .sx This sardonic-looking gentleman also put a hand on the adventurer's shoulder .sx " Young man , " he said solemnly , " I guess this is the day when your luck is right in .sx