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The next portion of their task consisted in the conveyance of everything landed from the wreck round to the islet; which the ladies had suggested should be called "Fay Island," its exquisite and fairy-like beauty seeming to them to render such a name appropriate.
The British had not long to wait for the expected meeting with the enemy. At daylight on the 8th of April 1782, the Andromache frigate, commanded by Captain Byron, appeared off Gros Islet Bay, with the signal flying that the enemy's fleet, with a large convoy, was coming out of Fort Royal Bay and standing to the north-west.
"'Dave, she said, 'if there should be something well inexplicable tonight something that seems too dangerous will you promise to go back to our own islet tomorrow, if we can and wait until the natives return? "I promised eagerly the desire to stay and see what came with the night was like a fire within me.
The river here was nearly a quarter of a mile wide on each side of the islet. As we emerged from the stream on to the island we found fresh tracks of the tiger. They led us completely round the circumference of the islet. The tiger had evidently been in quest of food. The prints were fresh and very well defined.
For some time the brothers paddled about the sedgy shore of the small islet on which the camp had been pitched, now setting up a flock of ducks and then slipping into the heart of some reeds and concealing themselves until a good chance was obtained at a passing flock of geese.
That these were neither few nor light soon became apparent, for Edgar and the seaman, after an hour's investigation, returned to their friends with the information that they had been cast on a small rocky islet, which was uninhabited, and contained not a vestige of wood or of anything that could sustain the life of man.
While engaged on the extreme side of a reef, extending from a small islet, in taking astronomical observations, they were disturbed by an extraordinary yell proceeding from about forty men of colour, who were advancing from the islet along both sides of the reef, with the evident intention of surrounding Sir E. Belcher and his party, on nearing whom they commenced hurling spears and arrows, though without effect.
The sound that had broken her reverie was the gentle sweep of big-bladed oars through the calm sea. As she knew this she saw, away to the right, a black shadow stealing across the silver waste beyond the islet. It pushed its way to the water at her very feet, and chose that as its anchorage. The figure of the rower stood up straight and black for a moment, looking lonely in the night.
A brilliant day dried the damp house, and soon everything resumed a normal aspect except the forest, which looked brown and ragged, like autumn woods at home. I made use of the first calm day to visit the lonely little islet of Meralava.
This seemed not improbable, and striving hard to convince ourselves that it must be so, we regained the lower level by the same pass through which we had ascended, and hastened along the base of the height, and down the shore of the stream till we reached the islet again. But our companions were not there.
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