Sailors, as a
rule, are easily led, and if there is no evil influence at work among
them they seldom incline to mutiny when they know that the safety of
all depends upon discipline and obedience to the captain's orders.
CHAPTER XIV
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE
Most of the islands we visited on our return to the South Seas we found
to be inhabited. But some, although well-wooded, and possessing a
luxuriant vegetation, were unoccupied except by sea-fowl. It was toward
one of these islands we now directed our course in order to fill our
water tanks, when we observed a solitary figure upon the beach whose
hair and beard hung down in a tangled mass upon his chest and
shoulders, while the skins of some small fur-coated animal, roughly
sewn together, made him a covering for his body unlike any we had seen
adopted by savage tribes. His attitude, moreover, as he stood upon the
beach, shading his eyes and gazing intently at us as we rowed towards
the shore, suggested the European rather than, the savage, and upon
coming close up to him we knew him to be some castaway marooned upon
the island. He appeared to have lost the power of speech, although he
made guttural sounds when he saw us, and, what was more remarkable, he
seemed to recognize us.
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