We must,therefore,hug the coast until we gained the western end,where,through a passage eight miles wide,we might sail southward between Raraka and the next isle,Kauehi.We had the wind free,a lightish air;but clouds of an inky blackness were beginning to arise,and at times it lightened -without thunder.Something,Iknow not what,continually set us up upon the island.We lay more and more to the nor'ard;and you would have thought the shore copied our manoeuvre and outsailed us.Once and twice Raraka headed us again -again,in the sea fashion,the quite innocent steersman was abused -and again the CASCO kept away.Had I been called on,with no more light than that of our experience,to draw the configuration of that island,I should have shown a series of bow-window promontories,each overlapping the other to the nor'ard,and the trend of the land from the south-east to the north-west,and behold,on the chart it lay near east and west in a straight line.
We had but just repeated our manoeuvre and kept away -for not more than five minutes the railway embankment had been lost to view and the surf to hearing -when I was aware of land again,not only on the weather bow,but dead ahead.I played the part of the judicious landsman,holding my peace till the last moment;and presently my mariners perceived it for themselves.
'Land ahead!'said the steersman.
'By God,it's Kauehi!'cried the mate.
And so it was.And with that I began to be sorry for cartographers.We were scarce doing three and a half;and they asked me to believe that (in five minutes)we had dropped an island,passed eight miles of open water,and run almost high and dry upon the next.But my captain was more sorry for himself to be afloat in such a labyrinth;laid the CASCO to,with the log line up and down,and sat on the stern rail and watched it till the morning.He had enough of night in the Paumotus.