At any moment, unless we
proceed cautiously, we may run aground. Five knots would suit me
better than twelve."
Barr chafed silently. The reply was unanswerable.
Better to go slow than to run the ship ashore. Suddenly he snatched
the binoculars from the man beside him and turned them on the
aeroplane. He almost uttered a cry of triumph as the craft swung
into his field of vision.
There was something the matter with her.
She was no longer rushing straight ahead.
As Luther Barr watched her he saw the great aircraft swoop in a huge
circle above the town and then settle down so swiftly that it looked
as if she must have been dashed to pieces. But the town was hidden
behind a point and he could not see it.
"I hope she has been dashed to pieces," he gritted between his teeth
savagely, "that would mean the saving of a lot of trouble for me."
But even as he prepared to put the binoculars back in the pocket
alongside the binnacle with an evil smile playing about his thin
lips, there came a startling shock.
Barr was almost thrown from his feet and only saved himself from
falling by grasping a stanchion. The ship quivered from stem to
stern as if she had been hit a staggering blow.
"We've struck a reef!" exclaimed the late bos'n.
"A reef!" yelled Barr, beside himself with fury.
Pages:
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220