The storm had put things on the Pearl topsy-turvy. Norris' first care was for his cannon, of which he was happy to find the lashings had held. He threw off the tarpaulin.
"Ah!" he said, "she's O. K. Just a little—"
He was cut short by Robert.
"There goes a boat!" cried Robert. "And there's Wayne and Ray in it!"
"The h—l!" said the staring Norris, and he ran to where Captain Marat and two sailors were unlashing one of our boats. In a pair of minutes we had it in the water.
"Robert, Julian, Carlos," spoke Captain Marat. "We go."
Captain Marat and Carlos each took up a rifle, and the next minute we were pulling for shore. We had not covered half the distance to the beach, when we were attracted to another boat moving from the Orion, this one full of black men. Then Norris' cannon boomed. That boat full of black men took the shot in the middle and ceased to be a boat. I saw men swimming toward the Orion. Some must have been killed, though I could not tell for the debris.
"Norris got them!" Robert said, exulting.
Captain Marat's eyes danced. "Thad Englishman one ver' good man," he said.
We hurriedly pulled to the beach and sprang out. We ran down the beach a way, then pushed through the cocoanut palms and into the forest, to head off those with Wayne and Ray. But we were too late, and the forest too thick, we could not see them. We searched for hours; and then it began to grow dark, so we went back to the Pearl.