It was no larger than the sailor had estimated.

The new slopes now revealed were covered with verdure down to the very edge of the water, which, for nearly a mile seawards, broke over jagged reefs.

The sea looked strangely calm from this height.

Irregular blue patches on the horizon to south and east caught the man's first glance.

He unslung the binoculars he still carried and focused them eagerly.
"Islands!" he cried, "and big ones, too!" "How odd!" whispered Iris, more concerned in the scrutiny of her immediate surroundings.