Creeping nearer Boyle, she whispered:
"For Heaven's sake, say the life-boat is visible again!"
He held up a hand to enforce silence. A deep hush fell on the ship.
"Listen!" he muttered, so low that Elsie alone caught the words. "Can
you hear firing?"
She thought she could distinguish an irregular patter of dull reports,
and the behavior of the Indians showed that additional excitement was
toward. Many of them stood up and waved their arms, possibly as a
signal to their allies on shore. The canoes raced madly. Where speed
was vital the rough-hewn native craft were far swifter than the
solidly-built lifeboat, with its broad beam and deep draft.
And that was all. Though they strained their eyes and spoke with bated
breath, never a sight of boat or canoes was obtainable for hours after
the latter were swallowed up by the trees which shrouded the creek at
the foot of Guanaco Hill.
Isobel Baring, moved by genuine pity for her distraught friend, tried
to induce her to leave the deck. But she shrank away, terrified by the
fire which blazed from the blue eyes resting on her for an instant.
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