“Wait!” cried Captain Steerit.
Tom felt himself knocked down and hurled across the sloping deck. In vain he tried to grasp something to stay his progress. A wave splashed up, making the deck even more slippery.
Over and over rolled Tom, and he hoped, when he came to the rail, to save himself. But the rail was not there. In the glare of the burning signal lights Tom could see where a great portion of it and the netting had been torn away. There was nothing to save him from rolling into the sea.
In vain he tried to clutch the slippery deck, to hold on to something. He did not cry for help. He knew it would be useless. Over and over he rolled.
The vessel was sinking fast now. Tom, imperiled as he was, could tell that. She rose more sluggishly to the heaving waves. There were cries of pain, terror and confused shouts.
A moment later our hero found himself shooting off into space.
Down and down he plunged. He could see the glare of the rockets reflected from the surface of the boiling waves. He saw something white floating, and he tried to hurl himself toward that.
In another instant he had hit the water feet first, and felt himself going down into the depths. He had been tossed overboard into the midst of the ocean and in the heart of the storm. The waters closed over him, and filled his ears with their booming sound.