Dialstone Lane, Part 5 by W.W. Jacobs

Mr. Stobell was the first to emerge, and, seizing the canvas, dragged it / free of the writhing bodies of his companions. Mr. Chalk gained his feet / and, catching sight of some dim figures standing a few yards away on the / beach, gave a frantic shout and plunged into the interior, followed by / the others. A shower of pieces of coral whizzing by their heads and / another terrible yell accelerated their flight.

Mr. Chalk gained the farther beach unmolested and, half crazy with fear, / ran along blindly. Footsteps, which he hoped were those of his friends, / pounded away behind him, and presently Stobell, panting heavily, called / to him to stop. Mr. Chalk, looking over his shoulder, slackened his pace / and allowed him to overtake him.

"Wait -- for -- Tredgold," said Stobell, breathlessly, as he laid a heavy / hand on his shoulder.

Mr. Chalk struggled to free himself. "Where is he? " He gasped.

Stobell, still holding him, stood trying to regain his breath. "They -- / they must -- have got him," he said, at last. "Have you got any of your / pistols on you?"

"You threw them all away," quavered Mr. Chalk. "I've only got a knife."

He fumbled with trembling fingers at his belt; Stobell brushing his hand / aside drew a sailor's knife from its sheath, and started to run back in / the direction of the tent. Mr. Chalk, after a moment's hesitation, / followed a little way behind.

"Look out! " he screamed, and stopped suddenly, as a figure burst out of / the trees on to the beach a score of yards ahead. Stobell, with a hoarse / cry, raised his hand and dashed at it.

"Stobell! " cried a voice.

"It's Tredgold," cried Stobell. He waited for him to reach them, and / then, turning, all three ran stumbling along the beach.

They ran in silence until they reached the other end of the island. So / far there were no signs of pursuit, and Stobell, breathing hard from his / unwonted exercise, collected a few lumps of coral and piled them on the / beach.

"They had me over -- twice," said Tredgold, jerkily; "they tore the clothes / from my back. How I got away I don't know. I fought -- kicked -- then / suddenly I broke loose and ran."

He threw himself on the beach and drew his breath in long, sobbing gasps. / Stobell, going a few paces forward, peered into the darkness and listened / intently.

"I suppose they're waiting for daylight," he said at last.

He sat down on the beach and, after making a few disparaging remarks / about coral as a weapon, lapsed into silence.

To Mr. Chalk it seemed as though the night would never end. A dozen / times he sprang to his feet and gazed fearfully into the darkness, and a / dozen times at least he reminded the silent Stobell of the folly of / throwing other people's guns away. Day broke at last and showed him / Tredgold in a tattered shirt and a pair of trousers, and Stobell sitting / close by sound asleep.

"We must try and signal to the ship," he said, in a hoarse whisper. / "It's our only chance."

Tredgold nodded assent and shook Stobell quietly. The silence was / oppressive. They rose and peered out to sea, and a loud exclamation / broke from all three. The "_Fair Emily_" had disappeared.

Stobell rubbed his eyes and swore softly; Tredgold and Chalk stood gazing / in blank dismay at the unbroken expanse of shining sea.

"The savages must have surprised them," said the latter, in trembling / tones. "That's why they left us alone."