each less than five hundred yards away.

"Swing her for the open sea again," said Riggs. "I'll trim the sail, so
if they are watching us they'll think we are making a board to run out.
Keep low, all hands, and at the first shot drop to the deck and keep
covered, and we'll manoeuvre out of reach until dark. If they press us,
we'll let 'em get up close, so they'll think we have no weapons, and then
we'll open up on 'em at close range and settle it."

The raft went about clumsily on the other tack and heeled over so that
her port side was deep in the water, which afforded us good protection
from the island. We kept close watch on the edge of the jungle, but
nothing menaced us, although the tangle of brush and creepers might have
been full of men and we little the wiser.

"Over with the helm now, but not too quick, and hold her steady when she
stands for the land and don't get scared at a little surf. Keep her head
on until she grounds, and then take to the water and rush ashore with
some of the gear while I get the rigging down.

"See that you keep your pistols out of the water, and dump the gear in
the brush. Rajah will hold her steady while we lighten her a bit, and
then we'll drag her in with the swells."

The raft turned in a great circle and plunged for the rollers straight
before the breeze. The captain cut away the stays just before she struck
and we went into waist-deep water on a hard, sandy bottom. The heave of
the incoming swells threatened to break her open in the middle as she
swung broadside against the hard shingle.

We lost a few things which didn't matter much, but, as our matches and
biscuits and spare ammunition were sealed in oil cans, along with salt
and cigars, most of such stuff as broke loose floated ashore and we saved
it. Our chief difficulty was in saving the small casks of water and the
sack full of cooking utensils and camp tools.

I danced a lively jig as I ran into the burning sand, and Riggs had to
laugh at me as I retreated out of it and put on my shoes while standing
in the water, but he took the same precaution. When we had hidden our
stores just inside the fringe of the jungle, we sank the raft close under
the ledge of rocks by filling her with big stones; and, while we were
busy at this work, Rajah went up on the point and concealed himself among
the boulders in a position where he could get a view of the beach beyond.

We kept our pistols slung about our necks on shortened belts