156 ADVENTURES IN THE SOUTH SEAS 
The traders had all their boats pulled up, and we had some 
difficulty in getting them to send a boat out to us. Finally 
I got ashore at 8 P. M. 
“We hurried along to the doctor’s house to tell him the 
news. I found the doctor at dinner, but when he read the 
letter sent to me, he just pushed his dinner aside and said 
to me, “Captain, it is a terrible night. Moments count. Can 
you take me back tonight? We may be in time.’ I said I 
would do all I possibly could to get him there that same 
night. 
“The doctor went over to the hospital, made up some med- 
icines for his patients, gave some instructions to his assistant, 
and with the precious serum we started back for the ship. 
As I carried that packet of serum I thought, “Can we do it? 
Will we be in time?’ 
“We left the hospital at 9 Pp. M., but owing to the dinghy 
being small, we lost some time in getting aboard, and finally 
left at;O? S00P. uM. 
“What a night! Pitch dark! The wind blowing a gale! 
Thunder and lightning and rain in gusts, but moments count! 
The two engineers are put into the engine room and battened 
in. Daniel, the most reliable boy I have ever had on board 
ship, takes the wheel. I go forward and stand by the look- 
out man. We stand there together by the main mast with 
a piece of canvas wrapped around us. It keeps us to the 
mast and helps to keep the wind out. We are both as wet 
as can be. 
“We run along the coast some four miles, and then put 
to sea, for we have to pass on the outside of the outer reef 
off Atchin. The wind and sea are driving us on to the reef, 
while we are trying to get to windward of it. The reef is 
a dangerous one; ships can go either side of it, but there 
is no hope for the vessel that gets on it. 
“We headed out to sea, and as we stood there together, 
Moses and I, we wondered what would happen. It was use- 
less to listen for breakers; nothing could be heard above the 
