nd with a shock that threw us to the deck. Close under our
lee quarter lay the breakers, less than a couple of hundred yards away.
Lee Fu made frantic signals forward, where the crew were watching us in
utter terror. I felt the centerboard drop; a patch of sail rose on the
main. The boat answered, gathered headway, drove forward--

"Wilbur lay as he had fallen and made no move.

"Two nights later, under a clear starry sky, we slipped through Lymoon
Pass on the tail of the land breeze. It fell flat calm before we reached
Wanchi; the long sweeps were shipped, and the chattering crew, who'd
never expected to see Hong Kong again, fell to work willingly. At length
we rounded to against the bulkhead and settled into our berth, as if
back from a late pleasure trip down the bay.

"A little forward, Wilbur rose to his feet. He hadn't spoken or touched
food since that tragic hour under the reefs two nights before. Without a
glance in our direction, he made for the side and stepped ashore. There
was a bright light behind him; his form stood out plainly. It had lost
the lines of vigor and alertness; it was the figure of a different and
older man.

"A moment later he had lurched away, vanishing in the darkness of a side
street. Three days later, we heard that he had taken the boat for
Singapore. He hasn't been seen or heard of since that day.

"When he had gone, that night at the bulkhead, Lee Fu reached out a hand
to help me to my feet. 'Thank you, Captain,' he said. 'For my part, it
has been supremely interesting. For your part, I hope that you have been
repaid?'

"'It's enough to be alive, just now,' I answered. 'I want a chart, Lee
Fu. I want to see what you did. How you did it is quite beyond my
comprehension.'

"'Oh, that? It was not much. The gods were always with us, as you must
have observed. And I know that place pretty well.'

"'Evidently. Did the "Speedwell" fetch up among those reefs, or to
leeward of them?'

"'The "Speedwell?" Captain, you did not believe my little pleasantry! We
were nowhere near the wreck of the "Speedwell," as Captain Wilbur should
have known had he retained his mind.'

"I smiled feebly. 'I didn't know it. Tell me another thing, Lee Fu. Were
you bluffing, there at the last, or wasn't there really a hole through
the reef?'

"'So far as I am aware, Captain, there was no passage,' answered my
imperturbable friend. 'I believe we were heading for the rocks when we
came into the wind.'

"'