By this time a strong breeze had sprung up, blowing athwart the channel. The absence of trees close to the bank increased the difficulty, for there was no protection from the wind as it swept against the lofty side of the slowly-moving Pelikan.
Already the raider's semaphore was signalling to the Myra to cast off and anchor until the tide slackened.
With a grim smile on his face Armstrong winked solemnly at the subs. He said not a word, for several of the German seamen were standing by.
"Let go!" ordered Unter-leutnant Klick, directly he saw that the Pelikan had dropped her anchor.
Promptly the British seaman stationed at the compressor obeyed. The bower anchor fell with a sullen splash. Fathom after fathom of chain roared through the hawse-pipe.
Klick raised his hand as a signal for the cable to be checked. The Myra was still making sternway and showed no decided tendency to bring up. Another fifty fathoms of chain were paid out. Still the tramp dropped astern. She was now within half a cable's length of the Pelikan, which to prevent herself being in collision was obliged to veer out her cable.
"The anchor's not holding, sir!" shouted the German petty officer in charge of the fo'c'sle party.
"Then let go a second anchor," yelled Klick excitedly. "Make them look sharp, or we'll be foul of the Pelikan."
The unter-leutnant had no cause to complain of the lack of energy on the part of the prisoners. With the utmost dispatch the second anchor was let go. Before twenty fathoms, which alone ought to be sufficient to bring the Myra to a standstill, were paid out the whole of the cable of the first anchor had been made use of.
Suddenly a sullen roar was heard coming from down-stream. The Mohoro River at certain intervals, especially at extraordinary spring-tides, is subject to a bore. The bore is very erratic. Sometimes it is very much in evidence, at other times it is hardly perceptible; but there was no doubt that now it was of unusual magnitude.