“I am sure of that. Hello!”
Mr. Storms had hold of the steering-oar, and Fred was sitting close to him when he uttered the last exclamation, and, springing forward, hastily drew his pistol, took a quick aim and fired.
A frenzied howl followed, and one of the crew made a furious plunge far out into the sea, and, going down like a log, never came up again.
“Over with you, too!” shouted Sanders, in their native tongue, his eyes flashing; “not an instant, or I’ll shoot!”
The savage did not hesitate, with his knife clenched in his hand, and the young captain leveled his pistol at him.
The sight of the muzzle so close to his skull, and the finger resolutely pressing the trigger, were too much, and the savage made a tremendous leap, like a tiger 248 springing from his hiding-place, went far out into the sea, and, quickly coming to the surface, blew the water from his mouth, and began swimming with a swift, powerful stroke in the direction of the pursuing boat.
“Did you see that?” inquired Sanders, beginning coolly to reload his pistol.
“What do you mean?”
“Did you know why I fired as quickly as I did?”
“No.”