“It shall be granted you. But, humanly speaking, there has been some accident on board that craft yonder.”
“It must be that; as a sailor, you know any one of a half dozen things would be sufficient to throw them out of the race. A ripping of the sail, a fracture of the mast, the breaking of the steering gear, or some sudden quarrel would do the trick. Sufficient for us is it to know that it has been done.”
“God helps them that helps themselves,” added Storms, “and we must improve to the utmost the chance thrown in our way.”
Naturally the fear of the two was that their pursuers might repair the accident which was throwing them to the rear for the time, and regain what was lost. They steadily fell behind, and, as soon as invisible, the proa made an abrupt change in her course, with the view of defeating the calamity that they feared threatened them. When this had lasted for an 255 hour, another change was effected, with the result, as Sanders announced, that they were now heading directly for Wauparmur.
The eyes peering backward through the vivid moonlight failed to bring the dreaded craft to view, and it was not yet midnight when Sanders announced the thrilling fact that the twinkling lights, which appeared in front like a constellation in the horizon, were made by the dwellings in the native South Sea town of Wauparmur. All danger was past, and about an hour later the proa glided in among the shipping in that excellent harbor, made fast to the wharf, and the three disembarked.
Fred led the way to a house of entertainment near the harbor, in which he found good lodging for his friends.
Abram Storms carried all the precious pearls to his room and carefully secured the door, after which he threw himself upon the bed and slept as soundly as an infant.
Inez Hawthorne, in the solitude of her apartment, devoutly thanked her Heavenly Father for His care, and then she, too, slept the sleep of exhaustion and perfect health.
It was near noon on the succeeding day when both rose and found Fred Sanders awaiting them. The young man had not slept at all, and was uneasy.