m of a headland. Watching closely, I soon saw it
again--unmistakably the shadow of land to port, well forward, of the
beam. Land! That meant that the wind had shifted to the southward, that
we were being blown against the shore.

"I worked my way cautiously aft, where Lee Fu stood like a man of iron
at the tiller, lashed to the heavy cross-rail that must have been
constructed for such occasions. He saw me coming, leaned toward me.

"'Land!' I shouted, pointing on the port bow.

"He nodded vigorously, to show me that he'd already seen it.
'Recognize--' The rest of the answer was blown away by the wind.

"By pantomime, I called his attention to the shift of the storm. Again
he nodded--then ducked his head in Wilbur's direction, and shouted
something that I couldn't quite follow. 'Change our tactics--we must
change our tactics--' was what I understood him to say.

"He beckoned me to come closer; grasping the cross-rail, I swung down
beside him.

"'I know our position,' he cried in my ear. 'Have no alarm, my friend.
There are two large islands, and a third, small like a button. Watch
closely the button, while I steer. When it touches the high headland,
give me the news instantly.'

"He had hauled the junk a trifle to port, and with every opportunity was
edging toward the land. The tall headland that I'd first sighted grew
plainer with every moment; soon I made out the island like a button and
saw it closing rapidly on the land behind.

"'Now!' I shouted to Lee Fu, when the two had touched.

"He swung the sampan a couple of points to starboard, discovering close
beneath our bows the tip of another reef that stretched toward the land
diagonally across the path of the wind. In a moment we were almost
abreast this point of reef; a hundred yards away, its spray lashed our
decks as the low-lying black rocks caught the broken wash of the storm.
Another swing of the great tiller, and we had hauled up in the lee of
the reef--in quiet water at last, but with the gale still screaming
overhead like a defeated demon.

"It was like nothing but a return from hell. The wind held us in a solid
blast; but to feel the deck grow quiet, to be able to speak, to
hear--and then, to see the land close aboard. By Jove, we were saved!

"A voice spoke gruffly beside us. 'By God, I hope you're satisfied!' We
turned to see Wilbur at the head of the cross-rail. A twitching face
belied the nonchalance that he'd attempted to throw into the word