168 ‘FOR THE FLAG

even appeared to trouble themselves about my existence.
That portion of Backcup is extremely curious, it might
rank with the marvellous grottoes of Kentucky or the
Balearic Isles. It is needless to say the work of man is
nowhere to be seen. The work of nature appears alone,
and it was not without a certain astonishment, mixed
with fear, that I thought of forces capable of raising
such prodigious structures. The part situated beyond
the lagoon received only the very slanting rays of
light from the central opening. At night, when lit
by electricity, this must be fairy-like. In no corner,
in spite of my search, can I find any communication.
with the outside.

I note that the island offers shelter to innumerable gulls.
Here, it appears, they are never molested ; they are left to
multiply at leisure, and the vicinity of man causes them
no alarm.

Backcup possesses other life than that of the sea-
birds. The enclosures for cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry,
are close to the Beehive. The food supplies are
thus as varied as they are certain, thanks also to
the products of the sea either from the outside reefs,
or from the waters of the lagoon, where fish of every
variety abound. In short, to convince oneself that
the dwellers in Backcup need want for nothing, it
was only necessary to look at them. They are all
vigorous men, robust types of seamen, baked and burnt
under the heat of tropical suns, full-blooded, and ever
inhaling oxygen through the winds of the ocean. There