over. The second line of roaring waves
came surging on, higher and more threatening than the first. Captain Eri
glanced over his shoulder, turned the dory's bow toward them and
waited. They broke, and, as they did so, the boat shot forward into the
whirlpool of froth. Then the sleet came pouring down and shut everything
from sight.

When Ralph came hurrying to the beach, bearing the oars, he found
Captain Perez alone.

CHAPTER XX

ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND

Captain Eri knew that the hardest and most dangerous portion of his
perilous trip was just at its beginning. If the dory got through
the surf without capsizing, it was an even bet that she would stay
right-side-up for a while longer, at any rate. So he pulled out of the
little cove, and pointed the boat's bow toward the thundering smother
of white, his shoulders squared, his hands tightened on the oar handles,
and his under-jaw pushed out beyond the upper. Old foremast hands, those
who had sailed with the Captain on his coasting voyages, would, had they
seen these signs, have prophesied trouble for someone. They were Captain
Eri's battle-flags, and just now his opponent was the gray Atlantic. If
the latter won, it would only be after a fight.

The first wave tripped over the bar and whirled beneath him, sending
the dory high into the air and splashing its occupant with spray. The
Captain held the boat stationary, waiting for the second to break, and
then, half rising, put all his weight and strength on the oars. The
struggle had begun.

They used to say on board the Hannah M. that the skipper never got
rattled. The same cool head and steady nerve that Josiah had admired
when the catboat threaded the breakers at the entrance of the bay, now
served the same purpose in this more tangled and infinitely more wicked
maze. The dory climbed and ducked, rolled and slid, but gained, inch by
inch, foot by foot. The advancing waves struck savage blows at the
bow, the wind did its best to swing her broadside on, but there was one
hundred and eighty pounds of clear grit and muscle tugging at the oars,
and, though the muscles were not as young as they had been, there were
years of experience to make every pound count. At last the preliminary
round was over. The boat sprang clear of the breakers and crept out
farther and farther, with six inches of water slopping in her bottom,
but afloat and seaworthy.

It was not until she was far into deep water that the Captain t