"In the hands of Morello, and——"
"Stand by!" roared Captain Akers. "Here she comes!"
So engrossed had they all been in Sam's narrative that they had not paid any attention to the threatened storm. But now "here she came," as the captain put it, with a vengeance.
A white wall of water rolled toward the boat. It did not seem as if she could live for an instant.
"Head her up into it!" roared Captain Akers sturdily.
His order was obeyed and the boat, overloaded as she was, rode the waves bravely, although she shipped considerable water. Following the first billow, the waves, though high, were not so menacing. But it was without a doubt only a question of time before the boat must be overwhelmed.
"Look!" shouted Nat suddenly. "There's a small bay around that point yonder. Pull for that!"
"Right, my lad. If we're not swamped before we reach it, we can beach her there in safety," decided the captain.
The boat was headed for the bay. On and on she drove, the waves raising her heavenward one minute and the next instant dropping her into a dark abyss of their troughs.
"Hurray! We're almost there!" shouted Nat gleefully as they neared the beach. But there is many a slip 'twixt cup and lip. Hardly had the words left his lips before a mighty wave bore down on the overladen boat. Caught in the avalanche of green water, she sank like a stone. The next instant her occupants were struggling in the surf.