The two men jumped out and turned the boat around so that its end pointed out to sea, and waited to try again. When a large wave came, they again ran out with the boat, and tumbled in after they got to deep water.
But the big waves came so close together that the boat was tossed up and down in the air. Sometimes a big breaker would roll out from under the boat, and let it drop on the water so hard that it seemed as if the bottom would be broken in. Finally, a big curling wave came. The boat was washed around sideways. The swell tipped the boat up, and then partly broke over it.
In a moment more, the boat was upset, and hides, men and oars were mixed up in the foaming water. They were all washed up high on the sand a second time. But now these hides were wet, so they must be stretched out in the sun to dry, and the boat must be loaded with some other hides and tallow.
The third time the men said: “We shall succeed this time. The seventh big wave is the last of the big ones for a while. We will wait for it.”
So they waited until six big waves had gone by. When the seventh came, a quick run and a hard pull carried them beyond the reach of the breakers, and they were safe.
“Do they always have such hard times getting off?” asked Pantu of a white man standing near.
“No,” said the man; “the waves are unusually high to-day.”
TRADING ON THE SHIP
AFTER the hides and tallow had been sent up to the ship, the captain said that the people could come aboard and trade.
The Father from the Carmel Mission near Monterey said he was going to visit the ship. He took some of his own Mission Indians with him. Docas, Oshda, and Pantu went along also to trade for their Mission.