"How are you making it, Allen?" he questioned.
"First rate," was the answer. The young man was rather put out over the interruption, yet he could not help but remember what Grimshaw had done for him and he gave the old man a warm look of gratitude.
"We're going to have some rough sailing for a little while," announced Grimshaw. "We're going to sail through that there gap in the reef—if it can be done."
From a distance they could hear the voice of Mr. Rogers giving orders. And the stamp of the seamen's feet announced that the Bertha Hamilton was getting under way. Short-handed as she was, never did sailors swing into the ancient chantey in better tune and with more cheerfulness.
"Oh, haul the bowline, Katy is my darling,
Oh, haul the bowline, the bowline haul!
"Oh, haul the bowline, London girls are towing,
Oh, haul the bowline, the bowline haul!
"Oh, haul the bowline, the packet is a-rolling,
Oh, haul the bowline, the bowline haul!"
With anchor apeak, topsails jerked aloft and flattened, the schooner took the wind. Although the earthquake had subsided, the waters both inside the reef and outside were much troubled. Where the two jaws of the rocky barrier still remained, the waves pounded and foamed furiously.
Would they be able to get out safely? That was the question in the mind of every man who trod the deck of the schooner. Soundings had been made, and they had learned that the lane to safety was both narrow and winding.
"If we hit, it will be all up with us," said one of the tars to his mates.