Suddenly the cabin doors flew open and three men, one hatless and with a white towel bound around his head, leaped out and scampered along the roof to the bow.

Wink raised his revolver, but Steve pulled his arm down.
"Don't!" he said.

"Let them go if they will." At that instant the _Follow Me_ faltered, stopped, and went on again for another yard or so as a breaking wave rushed under her keel, and then rolled over to starboard and subsided so, her propeller still beating and her stern slowly working around.

Into the two feet of water dropped the trio on the bow and, keeping the _Follow Me_ between them and the enemy, scuttled to land, and then, once on the hard sand, ran as hard as their legs would take them up the beach to the north.

Wink sent one shot hurtling after them, just, as he explained afterwards, to encourage them, and Steve, having cautiously edged the _Adventurer_ as near shore as he dared, gave his orders hurriedly.
"Get the big cable from the rope locker, Han," he directed.