He was in the bow of the ocean-going tug, and he saw that from where he lay in the bow to her stern her decks were packed with men.

She was steaming swiftly down a broad river.

On either side the gray light that comes before the dawn showed low banks studded with stunted palmettos.

Close ahead David heard the roar of the surf.
"Sorry to disturb you," said the youth in the golf cap, "but we drop the pilot in a few minutes and you're going with him." David moved his aching head gingerly, and was conscious of a bump as large as a tennis ball behind his right ear.
"What happened to me ?" he demanded.
"You were sort of kidnapped, I guess," laughed the young man.

"It was a raw deal, but they couldn't take any chances.