nd render it almost impossible for him to get
through without striking.

Here then was the position when Evers, cheerfully smoking a cigar, and
smiling all over his handsome face, gave the order to heave up. It was
blowing very strongly, the tide was on the ebb, the sun was directly
in our faces, and we were to tear through a narrow passage at racehorse
speed without being able to see anything.

I ventured to suggest to him that it was a bit late for us to get under
way.

"Not a bit of it. Come along with me up on the foreyard, and you'll see
how the _George Noble_ will skip through."

We certainly did skip, for before the anchor was secured, we were
dashing westwards for the passage at eight or nine knots, and Evers kept
calling out to the mate to make more sail. By the time we were abreast
of the passage, the _George Noble_ had every stitch of her canvas on
her, and was fairly "humming" along at nearly thirteen knots over the
smooth water, and then when she spun into the narrow passage through
which a seven-knot current was tearing, her speed became terrific, and I
held my breath. The second mate and boatswain were at the wheel, and
the crew were standing by the braces. The silence on board was almost
painful, for the terrible roar of the current as it tore along the coral
walls of the passage, deadened every sound.

"Starboard a little," shouted Evers to a sailor stationed in the fore
rigging below us, who repeated the order to a man on the rail, who in
turn passed the word aft.

"Steady, there, steady!"

I tried in vain to discern anything ahead of us--the blinding, blazing
sun prevented my seeing aught but a mad seething swirl of water just
beneath our bows, and on each side of us. Evers, however, seemed very
confident.

"We'll be through in another two minutes--" he began, and then came a
terrific shock, and both he and I were jerked off the footrope, and
toppled over the yard on to the bellying foresail!

We both rolled down on top of the windlass, and landed almost in each
others arms, half dazed. I sat down on deck to consider who I was, and
what was the matter, and Evers made a wobbly run aft, the ship still
ripping along, for we had been checked in our mad career for a second or
two only.

In two or three minutes we were outside, and clear of danger, and Evers,
now much subdued, brought to under the lee of the reef, and anchored.
Then we lowered a boat, and made an examination of the ship for'ard