19023 'The Rescue 



the other side, so that by resting a hand on the naked 

 shoulder of each she was able to keep upright. The 

 three then moved slowly toward the skiff, which 

 Taua and Musila were bringing on as fast as possible, 

 while I still drifted outward with the undertow. 



Sindo, floating on the waves, was now pulled up by Uauiei 

 Musila. As the boat passed me without stopping, I '«'» *^' 

 threw an arm over the bow, and soon had the joy of 

 seeing Mrs. Jordan safely lifted in. Yet we were by 

 no means out of danger, as further overturns might be 

 expected. Taua, however, skillfully worked his frail 

 craft into deeper water where the waves were much 

 less violent, and Musila was then able to drag me in 

 also — not an easy task, for my clothes were heavy 

 with water and the swells pounded mercilessly. 



All this time the launch had been waiting as far in Aboard 

 as it could safely come, and we finally got near enough ^^' ^''""''' 

 for the engineer to catch a tow line and take us 

 aboard, while Taua and Musila returned to see what 

 had befallen Marble and the Yandells. All three 

 were found clinging to the keel of the whaleboat, 

 under which the child had at first been thrown, and 

 whence they were rescued by a canoe from the village. 

 The tide now having fallen, the amphibious fita-fitas 

 righted the overturned boat and worked it back into 

 the sea, where its line was then picked up by the 

 launch. But, buffeted by the waves, it pounded 

 against us with dangerous force; the line became 

 tangled in our propeller and had to be hastily cut off 

 lest the launch itself should be disabled and wrecked. 



After a while, however, the engineer got all the 

 fita-fitas aboard, secured the whaleboat which they 

 had vainly tried to bail out, and thus steamed back to 

 Pago. Toward evening, to our great relief. Jack 



I 121 •} 



