es. As the mainsail rose creaking he broke out the jib with his own
hand, then with one stroke of his knife severed the manila mooring-rope,
and the _Espirita_ fell off slowly ahead of the breeze. Inocencio ran
back to spur his befuddled "niggers" to further activity, only to find
the girl still motionless, her eyes following his every movement. Under
the curses, the schooner slowly raised her wings and the night wind
began to strain at the cordage.

But at last, when the Jamaicans were fully awake to the state of
affairs, they threatened mutiny, whereat the mulatto flung himself upon
them so savagely that they scattered to arm themselves with whatever
weapons lay at hand. Then they huddled amidship, rolling their eyes and
praying; for out from the shore came a long mahogany _cayuca_, and it
was full of straight-haired men.

It takes a sailing-craft some time to gain its momentum, and as yet the
full strength of the trades had not struck the _Espirita_; hence the
canoe overtook her rapidly. Inocencio called to one of his men and gave
him the tiller, then took stand beside the girl, the naked blade of his
weapon once more beneath his arm.

The schooner's helmsman gave himself to God, while the cordage overhead
began to whine as the deck rose. It was upon the Haytian's lips to warn
his pursuers off when one of them called to the girl, bidding her leap.
Inocencio heard the breath catch in her throat, but she made no move,
and the command was repeated.

This time she answered by some exclamation that he did not understand,
whereat the canoemen ceased paddling, as if her word had paralyzed them.
They hurled their voices at her savagely, but she remained motionless,
the while the waters beneath her began to foam and bubble. The
_Espirita's_ crew ceased their prayers, and in the silence that ensued
the sea whispered at the bow as the craft listed more heavily under the
full force of the wind.

Inocencio could not fathom the meaning of the subdued colloquy among the
San Blas men, so he shouted a warning, but, strangely enough, they made
no answer. They only crouched, with paddles motionless, staring at the
dimming figures facing them, until the _Espirita_, "wing and wing" ahead
of the trades, was no larger than a seagull. As yet they had not learned
of the other tragedy hidden in the shadow of the palms; had they
suspected what lay weltering at the edge of a trampled moonlit glade
behind them, no threat of Inocencio's, no