"
"And the natives?"
"Some of them are remarkably tame, and trade freely with strangers;
but others have strongly marked cannibal propensities, and dote upon a
white-skin feast when they can get one."
Here Becker shuddered, and uttered an exclamation of horror.
"That would be a terrible fate, Willis."
"Whatever can he mean?" thought the Pilot.
"Willis, to reach Europe from here, what course do you think would be
best?"
"Now I think I shall fix him at last," said the Pilot, levelling his
rifle at an imaginary bird.
"You will only waste gunpowder," said Becker; "I see nothing."
"You asked me just now what course I should steer for Europe, did you
not?"
"Yes."
"Well, the most direct course would be to make the Straits of
Macassar, and then steer for Java."
"And when there?"
"You would then be fifteen or sixteen hundred leagues from the Cape."
"So much?"
"Yes, that is about the distance in a straight line across the Indian
Ocean. When at the Cape, another fifteen days' sail will bring you to
the line; five or six weeks after that St. Helena will heave in sight;
then you fall in with the Island of Ascension; leaving which a week or
two will bring you to the Straits of Gibraltar, where you get the
first glimpse of Europe. But if you are bound for England, your
daughter may commence working a pair of slippers for you; they will be
ready by the time you get there.
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