"Oh, why don't they go back to the yacht and signal to 'em to get under
weigh and go out in chase of us--cut us off on the other side?"
"But where is the yacht, Ned?" cried Jack. "She may be the other way."
"Ah, that's what we don't know, sir. There, we can't do anything but
sit fast. You get your arm over that side, I'll hold on this."
There was little talking now, the two prisoners' attention being turned
to the reef in front, which the paddlers were now straining every nerve
to reach at full speed. Suddenly a couple of the blacks sprung up, came
aft past where Jack and Ned sat, and thrust a long paddle over the stern
to help in the steering, which so far had been managed by the paddlers
themselves, one side easing when it was necessary.
The two men said something as they passed, but took no more notice of
them, and after looking sharply ahead for a few moments, Jack turned to
gaze at the pursuing boat, coming on steadily now. But the next minute
it looked dim, then it died out of sight, for the canoe had entered into
the mist of fine spray raised by the billows on the reef, and directly
after they were in a thick fog, as they rushed into the tremendous race
of waters leaping and surging about them. The long canoe quivered, the
men behind them yelled, and were answered by a fierce shout as the crew
frantically plunged their paddles into the yielding foam water, while
the spray blinded, the canoe bumped again and again, and then all at
once began to rise, till she seemed as if she were going to fall
backward prow over stern.
"It's all over with us," thought Jack; but the next moment she began to
sink toward the horizontal, hung for a second or two level, and then
glided down after a tremendous pitch, rose again, and then began to race
along on the top of a huge billow which foamed and raved hungrily by
their side.
This was repeated again and again, but the canoe shipped very little
water, and before Jack could realise that they were in safety, the wild
excitement and confusion of the tumbling water was at an end, and they
were being paddled away out to the open sea in the fast-coming
transparent darkness of the brief evening, with a wall of white waters
behind.