, most of whom were now showing signs of returning
consciousness; and they could all be away in the depths of the forest
before those others could reach the spot. Once free, it would be
strange indeed if they could not reach the protection of the Japanese
troops, who would by this time surely be disembarking, possibly only a
short mile away, if they should have elected to land at the spot where
the _Chih' Yuen's_ boats had been left.

"Phew!--the boats!" thought Frobisher to himself. If the troops should
land where he expected they would, the officers could not avoid seeing
them; and, seeing them, they would naturally at once endeavour to
discover whose they were. The name of the ship was on each boat--if the
Jap officers could understand Chinese characters--and surely, surely
they would try to locate the people who had landed from the vessel, if
only to attack and drive them from the island. If the disembarkation
had begun at dawn, a strong force might even now be in the vicinity
searching--perhaps within earshot. At this very moment a concentrated
shout on the part of Drake and himself might reach the ears of the
troops and bring them to the spot in time to save all hands from a
horrible death!

But the risk was too great. A shout would inevitably bring back the
savages, even if the guards did not punish the outcry with a
spear-thrust; and then all would be over. No, the only thing to do was
to wait, and pray fervently that the preparations of the Formosans might
take them some considerable time, thus giving the Japanese more
opportunity to find the prisoners before it was too late, if they were
coming at all. It seemed strange to Frobisher that the savages had not
also heard the steamer's syren; but he attributed the circumstance to
the fact that perhaps his own ears and Drake's were more sensitive to
such a sound, in the presence of imminent death, than those of the
Formosans. Besides, he and the lieutenant knew that the arrival of the
Japanese was expected, whereas the Formosans had no reason to suspect
anything of the kind.

While he was debating the matter in his mind he heard the noise of the
savages crashing through the bush on their return, and knew that, unless
assistance came within the next five minutes, it would arrive too late
for all of them.

Presently the cannibals reappeared in the clearing, laughing and joking
among themselves; and, having thrown their shovels and picks down by the
side