sunset was at hand. the red ball of the sun, blurred out of rotundity by the haze, hovered at the purple rim of the western mountains as though hesitating to depart.
the boat was through the surf, carried forward by the white crest in a surging rush. a last puff of wind filled her sails and gave her way enough to get over the bar and go in upon the sandy shore of the islet. here the trees and brush, while nothing like the tangled mass of jungle ashore, were thick enough to afford concealment. this was not the aim of barnes, however.
"haul her up, lads!" to his order the quartermasters leaped out. "you girls stay here and keep the kids quiet. if they have the nerve to rush, we're gone; but they won't. here, john, give me a hand! quick!"
he was helped ashore, finding himself very weak but clear-headed. each of the chinese had a revolver. barnes had two automatics and the one belonging to ellen. he gave his directions swiftly, and the two men darted into the brush. barnes leaned against the nearest tree and waited, watching the canvas of the pursuing boat come flying in with the last dregs of the breeze.
at last she came, rising on the gathering surge of the breaking surf, bow flinging high, steersman standing at the straining, oar in the stern. as she lifted against the flaming sky, barnes threw up his automatic and fired. the oarsman crumpled up. from three points the islet spat bullets at the nearing boat, sweeping her with the hot lead.
by some miracle, the expected did not happen. instead of capsizing, the boat swept in on the surf, and paused. a rifle spat response vainly. men were tumbling, falling over the thwarts, shrieking and yelling oaths. the figure of lim tock, in the bow, staggered and went down, but his voice pierced through the din continually.
an oar was put out, and another. of the dozen men aboard her, not half survived that blasting welcome. revolvers and pistols had been emptied. frantically the gasping men got the boat headed around to meet the surf. two more oars jabbed out. barnes lifted ellen maggs' pistol and shot with deliberate aim. two of the oarsmen sprawled down. somehow the boat crawled out again, in an interval of the surf, and began to draw away. barnes, disappointed and raging, emptied his last bullets at her. for a while she floated there, until the oars bit at the water and pulled her slowly away.
"damn it!" said barnes bitterly, as the quartermasters came back, reloading. "came within an ace of capsizing him; came within an ace of getting him and bagging his rifles! and missed. now we've lost the whole trick after all."
"plenty joss along lim tock," commented hi john.
barnes wearily turned to the boat and seated himself on the gunwale, while at his order the two men unshipped the spars and canvas. ellen maggs still lay unconscious, her head in the lap of nora sayers, who, was looking up at barnes with glad eyes.
"we've won? you beat them off?"
barnes mechanically felt for his pipe, filled it, and held a match to it.
"no," he said, his voice bitter. "we'd have won if we'd got their rifles and killed that devil, lim tock. we only drove him off—and we've lost, absolutely. leave the spars here ashore, john; put the canvas aboard—that's right. lay her on the canvas, nora, and take it easy. you'll need the sails for a covering against the night-mist."
when she had made the unconscious girl comfortable with the canvas, nora sayers rose and stepped ashore, where the three children were already ranging happily.
"what do you mean?" she demanded. "how have we lost?"
barnes jerked his pipe to seaward.
"they're bound to silence us at all costs, aren't they? sure. they've plenty of men aboard the junk and those other boats. it'll probably remain calm until sunrise, now, and we can't possibly get to sea. we can use only two oars. the inference is obvious."
she could not mistake it, and nodded slowly. barnes turned to the two chinese.
"any idea where we are, john?"
hi john nodded, and squatted in the sand with a stick. in the sand he drew several converging lines, designed to represent the delta and mouths of a large river. he pointed to one, then indicated the river beside them.
"i think bulungan river," he said. "we go up, bimeby we come topside. big river."
"you may be right, john—and look here! there's a dutch post somewhere up the bulungan——"
"two," said the quartermaster. "plenty big river, topside."
barnes looked at the recumbent figure of ellen maggs in the boat, looked at the three children playing in the sand. in the warm, clear light of the sunset, the perplexed frown of his face was plain to be seen. he looked anxious, yet his blue eyes were stormy and filled with a passionate anger as though he were rebelling against something that he saw was unavoidable. he came to his feet and paused.
"dutch posts?" cried nora sayers eagerly. "then we can row up the river!"
barnes looked at her, and under the regard of his eyes she fell silent.
"yes, you can," he said. "sure. and so can those devils, unless there's something right here to stop 'em! besides, it's a long chance. we don't know for sure that it's the bulungan river, or one of the mouths. that's the devil of destiny; it never gives a man a fair show for his white alley! the cards are stacked every time."
he glanced at the sky. there was yet half an hour of daylight, for the sun was down behind the western mountains of borneo, and the afterglow would linger for a while.
"you mean," questioned the girl, "that they can row so much faster than we can?"
"exactly. a dozen oars to our two. the dutch posts, if they're here, are probably miles up-river. they are trading posts, you know, in touch with the natives. we might hide somewhere along the river, only to die slowly. lim tock will search every inch of the stream, you may be sure. his own life depends on it."
"if we could get a messenger up the river——"
"yes," said barnes, and laughed. nora sayers bit her lip.
for a moment he puffed at his pipe, then drew a deep breath and beckoned the two quartermasters. they came, watching his face calmly, without emotion.
"you men will take this boat and row up the stream," he said quietly. "i confide to your care these two women, and these children. you are to protect them at all costs. this is——"
"but—wait!" exclaimed nora sayers in dismay.
"shut up!" snapped barnes. "now, men, this is your duty. they must be taken up to the dutch post, wherever it is. it means you must row most of the night, understand? i shall remain here and stop lim tock's men. i'm no good for rowing—and i can do that. now, do you understand?"
"my savvy. aye," they responded together.
"good. get to work and lighten the boat, then."
barnes put his pipe between his teeth and stepped toward the trees. he found himself halted, the girl's hand on his arm. he turned, and was astonished by the emotion that was in her face and eyes.
"please!" she said brokenly. "you must not do this. you must not deliberately sacrifice yourself——"
"cut it out, will you?" he roughly intervened. "i know what must be done here, nora. i'm not making any grandstand play, either. i can hold 'em up, and you can send down a dutch launch with a gun in her. they have 'em with machine-guns and pom-poms. one o' their launches could sink that blamed junk in a jiffy! they'll come quick enough, too! believe me, those dutchmen like nothing better than wiping out pirates, unless it's wiping out plague-ships. they do both jobs up brown."
"stop evading, please," she broke in. "why are you doing this? why don't you leave one of those chinese here, and go with us?"
the face of barnes twisted wryly.
"gosh, i wish that i could!" he said almost wistfully. "nope. whoever stays here will have a sweet time of it. besides, i'm good for nothing else. those quartermasters are darned fine men, nora; they'll see you through safe. you've got to realize that we're up against a desperate affair, and no half-way measures will serve!"
she stared into his eyes for a moment.
"is it for the children that you're doing it?" she asked. "they aren't worth it, i tell you! three arab children—they aren't worth the loss of a man like you!"
"you know better, girl," he said quietly, and she shivered.
"is it—us? is it for her? then, do you think she'd want to leave you? do you think she'd want to live and know that you had died here——"
"shut up; you'll be hysterical if you keep up this gait," interrupted barnes. "now, young lady, you can gamble good and hard that i don't want to stay here! not much. if there was any way out of it, i wouldn't. i'm not hankering for a martyr's crown or any of that hero stuff, not for a minute! i'm for keeping jim barnes topside every time. it hurts like hell to realize that there's no other way out. but here are you girls, and the kids, and somebody has to wait here. see? it just has to be done, that's all."
"then—then you don't believe that—we can reach the post in time?"
"well, anything's possible," said barnes dryly. "sure, there's a chance! now, i want you to get off before ellen wakes up, see? let her sleep as long as she will; this faint of hers is liable to go into sleep."
meantime, the two quartermasters, while lightening the boat of everything except food and a breaker of water, had been drinking in what they could understand of this conversation. their work finished, they stood by the bow of the boat and looked at each other for a moment, silent. at length li fu spoke, impassively, unconcerned.
"to the superior man, duty is as a clear star shining in the night."
"so it is written," agreed hi john. "give me your revolver and cartridges."
"haste treads upon the tail of a tiger," dissented li fu reflectively. "here is the revolver. let us see to whom the gods assign it. shall a white man be braver than we?"
"very well."
li fu tossed his revolver in the air. it spun, end over end, and spinning, fell down into the sand. the butt fell toward li fu, who stooped and picked it up.
"now give me yours," he said.
hi john obeyed without protest, passing over his revolver and what spare cartridges he had in his pockets. then he turned and walked to barnes and nora sayers, who had watched this scene curiously. he addressed the girl.
"missee, i think mebbeso you can row plenty good?"
"of course!" she exclaimed. "of course i can!"
"then you row along me," said hi john. "li fu, he stop here."
barnes growled something under his breath, and walked over to li fu.
"what's this mean?" he demanded. "you get in that boat and row, d'you understand?"
li fu regarded him placidly, without emotion, his yellow features very composed.
"you go hellee," he said, and then grinned. "my stop along you. savvy? missee plenty stlong, use oar plenty good! you go hellee."
what he saw in those calm eyes checked the words on the lips of barnes. he turned and went to the boat, and waded out along the gunwale until he was beside the figure of ellen maggs. with an effort, he stooped and touched his lips to her still cheek.
"good-by, girl!" he whispered, and then straightened. "get the kids, nora! come on, pile in; time to get off! get as far as you can before it gets dark. wrap a cloth about your hands, too; they'll be blistered quick enough."
collecting the children, nora sayers got into the boat. she held out her hand to barnes, who gripped it and smiled cheerfully.
"good-by," she said, her voice breaking. "i wish you'd let me wake her up! she'd want to say—
"she'd say i needed a shave damn bad," and barnes chuckled as he made reply. "you settle down on this thwart. all ready, men? shove off. good luck to you, nora! wrap your hands, now, before you get started. see you later!"
the boat glided out, hi john scrambling aboard as she cleared the sand. nora sayers tried to answer, but could not. barnes stood beside li fu and waved his hand.
the boat slowly drew up-river under the pull of the two oars and vanished around the head of the islet.
