Men Missing
Biff stood on the beach calling out his friend’s name again and again.
His voice shook with effort, trying to drown out the noises of surf and
sea.
The wind was dying down slightly, but the surf was still too rough and
dangerous for Biff to try to reach the boat, which stood one hundred
feet off shore.
Biff’s eyes searched the beach, hoping to spot Li swimming ashore. No
such welcome sight met his eyes.
To his left, about a quarter of a mile away, Biff could see a formation
of lava rock jutting out into the sea. He thought his friend Li might
have gotten to shore on the other side of the lava promontory.
Biff ran down the beach. His pounding heart sank when he reached the
ugly, grayish-black rock, stretching out into the sea. Its side was
smooth, rising upward some thirty feet. There was no place Biff could
spot where he could gain a foothold to climb to its top.
Around the base of the lava cliff, the water dashed and swirled, making
it impossible for Biff to swim around to the other side.
Biff went back to the spot on the beach directly opposite the _Easy
Action_. He sank down on the wet sand, filled with despair. He felt
certain now that his good friend Li must be lost in the ocean.
Night settled over a lonely, saddened Biff. The rain had stopped. The
wind was dying down. The surf was losing some of its angry roar. Sleep,
a sleep Biff felt he could never attain, finally came to the tired,
worried boy. With it came release for his troubled mind.
By morning, the wind was gone. The sea was smooth, and the sky was blue
over Hawaii once again.
Biff saw the yawl rocking gently at its anchor. Its sails torn,
tattered, drooped from the masts like the banners of a defeated army.
There was no sign of Li.
There was only one thing to do. He must search the nearby coast for his
lost friend.
Biff swam out to the yawl. A quick inspection showed the _Easy Action_
to be a stout ship. She had taken on little water. Her seams had held.
Her masts had stood the strain. Biff took out the emergency suit of sail
and rigged them to the halyards. He started the engine, let it idle as
he raised the anchor, then put out to sea.
He ran on engine past the lava promontory, bringing the boat as close
into shore as he felt safe. No sign of Li.
Biff put back out to sea, raised the jibsail and cruised along the
coast, his eyes constantly scanning the shoreline. He didn’t know how
far down the Big Island he sailed, but he dreaded turning about and
giving up. Finally, he felt he had to. He had to get back to where he
had left his father and Mr. Mahenili and tell them the tragic news.
Biff came about. Now he sailed in the opposite direction. He rounded the
lava promontory, lashed the tiller, and went forward to raise the
mainsail.
Returning to the cockpit, Biff cast a final look at the spot on the
black beach where he had spent the night. His heart leaped. There was
someone on the beach, jumping up and down, waving madly. Li!
With a shout of happiness, Biff turned the yawl inshore. Li had already
dashed into the water, and was swimming toward the approaching boat.
Biff came about quickly, heading the yawl into the wind. Li reached its
side, and Biff pulled him aboard. He threw his arms around Li’s wet body
and hugged him in sheer happiness. Then he stepped back and sized Li up
carefully. Except for some scratches, and a deep gash on one leg, Li
looked fine.
“I thought you were a goner,” Biff said.
“Nope, old Davy Jones hasn’t got me in his locker yet.”
“What happened? Where’ve you been?”
Li grinned. “I fell overboard. I’d just let go the anchor when my foot
got caught and I went over. A current caught me and carried me away from
the boat. The anchor must have dragged for quite a distance before it
caught, because when I finally made shore, the yawl wasn’t in sight.”
“Where’d you land? The other side of that lava cliff?”
“Yep. And there was no way to get over it.”
“I know that. I walked down the beach to the cliff, but it can’t be
climbed from this side, either.”
Both boys were silent for a minute, thinking about their narrow escape.
“So what did you do, Li?”
“I started up the cliff, the side of it. I had to find some way of
getting over it, hoping to find you safe on the other side.”
“Yes, go on.”
“Well, it was growing dark. I slipped several times, cut myself, too.”
“I see you did. We better put some antiseptic on that cut.”
“I’ve already cleaned it out with salt water. Stung like the dickens.”
“We’ll still do some more doctoring. Now get on with your story,” Biff
ordered.
“Well, I knew I wouldn’t make it at night, so I found a protected spot
and went to sleep. This morning, I made my way farther up the cliff,
found a place where I could cross, and came over to this side.”
“And I was gone.”
“Yes, Biff. When I finally made it here, I could have died. No Biff. No
boat.”
“I was looking for you. I must have sailed two or three miles down the
coast, trying to spot you.”
“That’s what I finally figured out, Biff. I thought that since the boat
was gone and there was no wreckage on the beach, old E.A. hadn’t smashed
up. So, putting my two heads together, I also figured you must be safe
and had gone hunting for me. So I just sat and waited. Boy, when you
rounded that promontory, was I ever glad!”
“Me too, when I saw you jumping around like a crazy Indian!”
The boys smiled at each other. Their smiles turned to laughter, and for
a few moments they let themselves go in a wild laughing bout.
“I should have known,” Biff said, simmering down at last. “I should have
known that Likake Mahenili, champion swimmer of the Islands, could take
care of himself.”
“It was close, though, Biff.”
“I’ll say it was.”
Biff put the _Easy Action_ on a course for the spot where the dinghy had
been beached. They sailed through the morning and well into the
afternoon before they spotted their landmarks. Biff anchored the yawl.
Both had felt sure their parents would be waiting for them on the beach.
There was no sign of either man.
“What do we do now, Biff?”
Biff shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
“I don’t know, Li. All we can do is wait. It’ll be dark, soon. We can’t
search for them at night.”
“Biff, you don’t think that maybe Perez Soto—” Li couldn’t finish his
sentence.
Biff knew the worried thoughts which must be running through his
friend’s mind. The same thoughts were racing through his own. Had his
father and Mr. Mahenili been trapped by the enemy?