He looked at his watch; it was past eleven. In four hours
there would be dawn. Dawn! In as many minutes he might see the day
that is everlasting. . . . Ah! Perhaps not even four minutes! The
_Kansas_, with a shiver, lifted to the embrace of a heavy sea, lurched
to port, and settled herself more comfortably. The deck assumed an
easier angle. Now it was possible to walk. There were no rocks here,
at any rate. Courtenay at once jumped to the conclusion that the
powerful current whose existence he suspected had cut out for itself a
deep-water channel towards the land, and the ship had struck on the
silt of its back-wash. Anyhow, the _Kansas_ was still living. The
lights were all burning steadily. He could detect the rhythmic throb
of the donkey-engine. He felt it like the faint beat of a pulse. In
her new position the ship presented less of a solid wall to the
onslaught of the sea. The tumultuous waves began to race past without
breaking so fiercely. Had she started her plates? Were the holds and
engine-room full of water? If so, Walker and his helpers were already
drowning beneath his feet.
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