from my back. How I got away I don't know. I fought--kicked--then
suddenly I broke loose and ran."

He threw himself on the beach and drew his breath in long, sobbing gasps.
Stobell, going a few paces forward, peered into the darkness and listened
intently.

"I suppose they're waiting for daylight," he said at last.

He sat down on the beach and, after making a few disparaging remarks
about coral as a weapon, lapsed into silence.

To Mr. Chalk it seemed as though the night would never end. A dozen
times he sprang to his feet and gazed fearfully into the darkness, and a
dozen times at least he reminded the silent Stobell of the folly of
throwing other people's guns away. Day broke at last and showed him
Tredgold in a tattered shirt and a pair of trousers, and Stobell sitting
close by sound asleep.

"We must try and signal to the ship," he said, in a hoarse whisper.
"It's our only chance."

Tredgold nodded assent and shook Stobell quietly. The silence was
oppressive. They rose and peered out to sea, and a loud exclamation
broke from all three. The "_Fair Emily_" had disappeared.

[Illustration: "The 'Fair Emily' had disappeared."]

Stobell rubbed his eyes and swore softly; Tredgold and Chalk stood gazing
in blank dismay at the unbroken expanse of shining sea.