barnes stood at the steering oar, holding the long ash deep and giving the whaleboat every ounce of windage that would drive her forward. shot after shot rang out from the pursuing boats, which were filled with men.
he could picture well enough what had happened. lim tock, unable to repair the smashed engines of the sulu queen, had sunk her. into the boats had piled the lascars and the yellow men, with their loot and opium, and started for the coast. they must have met the junk during the day, put the loot aboard her, heard of the whaleboat, and had come to seek her. lim tock would not dare to let her escape to carry tales.
"and now they've found us right enough!" he thought. "caught us, confound it! if they didn't have rifles, i'd run out to sea and fight 'em with seamanship. those lascars can't begin to handle whaleboats. if we only had a good mile between us! but the wind's falling. it'll die out, and won't come up again until after sunset. and by that time they'll crawl up on us with the oars. damn it!"
the bullets droned overhead. one man at a time seemed to be firing until his magazine emptied. there were good shots among the pursuers, too; several holes were visible in the mainsail, and twice barnes had felt hot lead come close. it dawned upon him that they were firing at his figure.
"are we beating them?" called nora sayers.
"no," said barnes grimly. in his appraisal he found the case hopeless, desperate; and he put it bluntly enough, explaining that the oarsmen aboard the pursuing boats, and the calm that was certain to fall, insured their being overtaken. the chinese listened calmly, with clear understanding; the two women comprehending well enough, but urging him desperately with their eyes.
the whaleboat was reaching out on the starboard tack, as she had left the lagoon opening. the land fell away to the southwest, so that she was standing practically out to sea while running almost before the wind.
"we'll have to run for the land, and do it quick," said barnes. "we don't dare to tack; we'll have to wear. the breeze is still pretty fresh, and they're apparently badly out of trim; good! now you'll see some fun, girls. i'll bet a trade dollar that one of 'em gets spilled. nora, come a bit aft and sit on the lee thwart—that's right. revolvers loaded, men?"
the quartermasters answered with a nod. barnes commanded li fu to stand by the fore sheet and, when the helm was put up, to empty his weapon at the nearest of the three boats.
"you take charge of the main sheet, john. those lascars will imitate us, and we'll give 'em something to imitate, or i'm a dutchman! all right, john—slack away, roundly! haul in—haul in! let her gybe, now—smart does it! ease away, now——"
the staccato reports of li fu's revolver cracked emptily down the wind. the boat went off before the wind, and the mainsail was hauled in and gybed dangerously, then was eased away as she paid off on the new tack. li fu, dropping his weapon, handled the fore sheet smartly to meet her by the wind.
a jubilant yell broke from barnes as he glanced backward. the foremost pursuer, confused by li fu's bullets, tried to wear hastily and suddenly. her mainsail hauled around in a terrific jibe that sent her flat over. heads dotted the water about the craft, but the other two boats managed the trick safely and stood away without halting to pick up their companions. a renewed rifle-fire opened from them.
"fire and be damned to you!" shouted barnes in delight. "if i had you out at sea and the wind steady, i'd show you tricks, you dogs! that's one of you gone, and the junk will be delayed picking up——"
the words seemed suddenly checked on his lips; a grunt broke from him, an abrupt ejaculation of surprise and almost alarm. the occasion of it did not appear.
"can either of you men steer with the oar?" he demanded.
li fu shook his head. hi john assented with a nod, and barnes beckoned him. picking his way aft, hi john took over the oar.
"you see that point dead ahead, with what seems to be a river-mouth on the other side? head for it, or a couple of points to starboard of it to allow for leeway. and make the river, john—good man——"
barnes spoke jerkily. for an instant he changed countenance; an expression of agony leaped across his face. he started forward. a cry broke from ellen maggs.
"catch him, li fu!"
but jim barnes sank down on the thwart beside nora sayers, and, smiling a little, reached up one of his automatics to li fu.
"here, li! go aft to keep her trimmed, and let 'em have it. fire low; those bullets will smash through the boat."
li fu stepped past him. barnes, disregarding the hand of nora sayers, lifted himself forward a little and dropped near the bow thwart, beside ellen maggs. the three children were up in the bow, chattering away and delighted with the chase.
"you're hurt?" cried ellen maggs, leaning toward barnes. he laughed lightly, though his lips were graying, as he looked into her eyes.
"aye. nora, pass up that little black medicine chest, will you? it's stowed under your thwart, i think, with the lantern and other stuff that was in the boat. does either of you girls know anything about surgery?"
"i do," said ellen maggs. her cheeks were very white, her eyes large. "only a little——"
barnes put his hand under his shirt and examined his side gingerly. then, with a grimace, he wriggled out of his jacket. he took the sheath-knife which li fu tossed forward on demand, and cut at the right side of his shirt. nora sayers, her face drawn and anxious, would have come with the medicine case, but barnes checked her.
"stay where you are, nora. we're fighting to reach land ahead of those devils, and every bit of trim to the boat counts a lot. throw it; that's right. now ellen, the bullet went in under the right arm and is bulging out the skin here on my right side. cut the skin and it'll pop out. i'm not left-handed or i could do it. then douse on plenty of iodine fore and aft, and clap on some kind of a bandage."
he lay back and threw up his arms, gripping the corks outside the gunwale, and so lay motionless, waiting. the girl leaned forward, her lips clenched.
"don't worry; it won't hurt," he said easily. "you, li fu! open up. are they gaining on us, or holding steady?"
"plenty steady," responded the quartermaster. at the next wave-crest he fired.
his feet braced, barnes lay motionless, and a smile crept to his pallid lips as he noted the deft certainty with which the girl attacked her task. twice she started to cut, and flinched; then, desperately, she set the keen steel to the white skin. in five seconds it was done. the bullet fell from her reddened fingers and bounced on the thin sheathing.
"steady, steady!" said barnes quietly, seeing her lips quiver. "now the smelly stuff and the bandages, girl." a sudden exclamation from the chinese made him glance up. "what is it, men? what is it?"
"that last shot plenty damn good; first-chop!" responded li fu, staring out. "hai! catchum bottomside one time!"
"fine work!" cried barnes. "that's two out of the race. ripped through her sheathing, eh? anybody hurt?"
"my no can see—catchum one damn coolie, mebbeso. bail like hellee!"
"good! do the same to the other boat if you can."
"can do," asserted li fu confidently, but he failed to make good his promise. the one shot that caused one of the two pursuers to limp behind was doubtless sheer luck.
"turn over, please," came the voice of ellen maggs.
barnes obeyed. the girl caught her breath as his blood-soaked back was revealed, while nora sayers leaned forward and directed her, aiding as best she could.
"how's the wind?" demanded barnes, while the bandage was being wrapped in place.
"go down plenty quick," responded li fu, examining the empty weapon. "no can do. i think lim tock in this boat. plenty joss."
"huh! joss won't save him if i get a good crack at the devil," commented barnes, as he lay face-down. "going to make the river, john?"
"aye. can do."
"it's done," said ellen maggs, her voice very faint.
barnes lifted himself stiffly and sat up. he saw the girl smile tremulously. then her face went ashen and she dropped back against the lee gunwale and lay quiet. barnes looked up at nora sayers.
"leave her be," he said quietly. "poor girl! must have been hell for her."
"it was," agreed nora sayers, regarding him almost savagely. "why didn't you let me do it? she wasn't made for that sort of thing, although she's a wonderful surgical assistant. i saw her faint twice, one morning at tientsin, when they were working on the wounded men. she ought to be cooking and tending babies, instead of messing around blood and wounds!"
"good lord, don't take it out on me!" said barnes, and smiled a little. "i didn't send her out to china, did i? but it won't be my fault if she ever goes back, i can tell you that! come on, swap places with me and mother her a bit. i've got to see what's doing. we've got a darned slim chance even if we do get ashore, and we can't overlook any bets."
he dragged himself painfully to the thwart, nora sayers aiding him. then, as he sat up, she took the head of ellen maggs in her lap.
to his infinite relief, barnes perceived that they were more than holding their own in the chase, and, if the wind had held, might have run for it successfully. but the wind would not hold. already it was dying out. looking back, he could see the brown matting sails of the junk flapping idly as she lay to, picking up the men from the capsized boat. the second boat, half submerged, was heading back for her.
only the third boat held on its course. as nearly as barnes could tell, there were a dozen men aboard her, but without glasses he could not distinguish figures to the extent of identifying them. he took the empty weapon from li fu and began to reload.
"none too many cartridges left; we didn't figure on a little war," he commented, and turned his attention to the shore.
a breath of relief escaped him. the shore was a scant quarter-mile away, and the wind would get them to it. hi john had made the promontory, a low, mangrove-rimmed tongue of land, and was heading toward the river-mouth which had disclosed itself beyond. the stream was one of some size, thickly girt by trees and jungle.
a single line of surf, breaking across the bar, was divided by a small, narrow island of white sand, where a few trees struggled. with extra high tides the island would be covered, barnes decided, but not at present.
"right-hand channel, john," he directed. "then beach her on that island. if we don't get that boat stopped, she'll do for us; but we can stop her. ellen waked up yet?"
"not yet," said nora sayers.
"then leave her alone. the next ten minutes tells the tale. give me that gun of hers."
the girl obeyed. a shrill cry from hi john heralded the surf-line, and as the boat rose to it, the sail began to flap. the wind was down.
