AN EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 6, 9 January 1899, Page 5

AN EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURE.

An extraordinary adventure in which four young persons were concerned is thus recounted by a St. Leonard's correspondent: —'On New Year's Eve two boys and two girls, apparently in their teens, secured a dingey and rowed out to the cutter Defence, lying at anchor. They had with them a good supply of provisions, clothing and books. They remained quietly on board for the greater part of the night, but about 4 a.m. on Sunday they slipped the anchor with a considerable length of chain, and set sail for some imaginary land. All went well until opposite the St. Leonards railway station. Here the cutter, with its living freight, became fast on top of the retaining wall, and there she lay from an early hour in the forenoon until. 6 o'clock in the evening. The owner of the cutter arrived on the scene during the day, and kept watch on his property until the tide made, when the Defence was floated off and anchored at the new jetty at Burkes. A large crowd assembled to witness the landing of the party. The two boys had a blush of shame on their faces, but the girls seemed quite indifferent. It would serve no purpose to publish the names, but it may entertain your readers to learn the provisions with which the youthful people had provided themselves—namely, one 50lb bag flour, one 251b bag oatmeal, four tins preserved milk, eight loaves bread, several tins of preserved meat, and various other articles.