[ The chief's canoe was paddled slowly towards the shore ]
[ Crash! fair in the centre of the lightly built fifty-feet hull struck the sharp stem ]
[ "A sail! a sail!" he exclaimed breathlessly ]
[ A huge turtle had crawled across the beach and ... had set the alarm bell ringing ]
[ With fierce shouts the savages tore down the path straight for the barricade ]
THE NAMELESS ISLAND
CHAPTER I
THE HURRICANE
The San Martin, a single-screw cargo steamer of 3050 tons, was on her way from Realejo to Tahiti. Built on the Clyde twenty years back, this Peruvian-owned tramp was no longer in her prime. Since passing out of the hands of her British owners, neglect had lessened her speed, while the addition of various deck-houses, to suit the requirements of the South American firm under whose house-flag she sailed, had not increased her steadiness.