body around
the heavier man, giving way before his bull-like rushes. When he reached
the position he desired, he checked his circling movement and began to
retreat steadily. Keeping his feet wide apart, his body carefully
balanced, he backed slowly in the direction of the spot where the grass
would no longer slip beneath his feet.

On the other side of the ledge, Tom Howard battled with the scar-faced
man. Of equal weight and strength, the struggle resolved itself into a
question of endurance, as the two men rolled over each other on the
barnacled rocks in an effort to break the other's grip and strengthen
his own. Unconscious of their surroundings, their heads locked close to
their straining bodies, they grappled blindly, working closer to a deep
crevice which lay across their path. For a brief instant they ceased
struggling. Their bodies stiffened. With each man seeking to pin the
other beneath him they rolled to the crevice and dropped from view.

* * * * *

Dickie, aboard the boat, flashed a glance at the gun-rack. The rifle was
gone. The patent-clasp which held the weapon in place had been wrenched
free. Her eyes traveled to the empty provision-locker, which stood open.
Close by it lay a small monkey-wrench with which some one had battered
the padlock.

A wrench would be better than nothing. She caught it up and ran to the
deck. Securing a small coil of rope, she jumped to the rocks and raced
in the direction of the spot where the weasel-faced man had fallen.

As she ran she caught a glimpse of Gregory giving way before the
red-bearded man toward the table-like surface of the ledge which jutted
out over the cove. Of Howard she could see nothing. She stopped
suddenly as she came in view of the spot where the weasel-faced
islander had sprawled upon the rocks.

The man was gone.

* * * * *

Solid rock beneath his feet at last--Red-beard had forced him to the
exact spot he desired to reach--Gregory's muscles contracted with a
jerk. He stopped retreating and began to slide around the islander. If
he was successful in carrying out his plan it was best to have Red-beard
on the outside of the ledge.

Divining his purpose, the big man stiffened as he caught a glimpse of
the sea over his shoulder. Straining closer to each other's throbbing
bodies, the two men redoubled their efforts to twist the other to the
outside. Red-beard's breath began to come in