"'This is the end' said Lee Fu, speaking in loud jerks, as he steered across the lagoon 'From this haven there is no way out, except by the way we came. That way, of course, is closed by the gale. To windward is shelter, ahead is destruction. I will seek the shelter if you will speak. If not, I shall go on. By this time, Captain, you know me to be a man of my word'
"'You yellow devil!...'
"'Waste no time in recriminations. Beyond these reefs, Captain, lies the wreck of your ship, the Speedwell. I have brought you to see the scene. There my friend met death at your hands. You have had full time to consider. Will you join him beneath the waves, or will you return to Hong Kong? A word will save you. Remember, the moments pass very swiftly'
"'What about yourself and Nichols?' blustered Wilbur.
"'We go too ... or stay ... it makes little difference. This is a matter that you cannot understand. We do not care'
"At this juncture, I was fated to under-estimate Wilbur after all. I thought him broken; but a last flicker of obstinate pride remained, to prop his extraordinary ego. He pulled himself together again, and whirled on us.
"'I didn't do it!' he snarled. 'It's a damned, scoundrelly lie!'
"'Very well, Captain. Go forward once more, and reserve your final explanation for the gods'
"The flicker of pride persisted; Wilbur staggered off, holding by the rail. I waited beside Lee Fu. Thus we stood, like wooden images, watching the approach of the lagoon's leeward margin. Had Lee Fu spoken truthfully—was there no way out, in that direction? I couldn't be certain. All I knew was that the wall of spouting surf was at our bows, that the jaws of death were opening again.
"Suddenly Wilbur's head snapped back; he flung up his arms in a gesture of finality, shaking clenched fists into the sky. With a thrill that tingled to my finger-tips, I realized that he was at the point of surrender. The torture had reached his vitals. He turned and floundered aft, holding his hands before his face like a man struck blind.