Читать книгу Men Against the Sea – Book Set. The Greatest Maritime Adventure Novels: The Bounty Trilogy, Lost Island, The Hurricane, Botany Bay, The Far Lands, Tales of the South Seas… онлайн

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Eighteen years were to pass before I learned how mistaken I was in this opinion. Sir Joseph listened attentively. “That’s interesting,” he said. “Captain Cook had no idea there was land so close to Aitutaki. A high island, you say?”

“Two or three thousand feet, at least. The mountains are rugged and green to the very tops. There is a broad belt of coastal land; it looked rich and populous.”

“The very place for them! Is the island large?”

“Nearly the size of Eimeo, I should say.”

“Gad, Byam!” he exclaimed, regretfully; “I’d like to report the discovery. But have no fear—the secret is safe with me.... Christian ... poor devil!”

“You knew him, sir?”

He nodded. “I knew him well.”

“He was my good friend,” I said. “There was provocation, God knows, for what he did.”

“No doubt. It’s strange ... I had supposed that Bligh was his best friend.”

“I am sure that Captain Bligh thought so, too.... I’ve a sad task ahead of me. I promised Christian that I would see his mother if ever I reached England.”