King o' the Beach

"Yes, don't you know?"

"I know nothing but that I have that poor boy lying there to be saved from death if it be possible. Can't you have a wind-sail lowered down here? The heat is intolerable."

"Wind-sail? You'll have wind enough directly. We're going straight into a typhoon, and no other course is open to me in this reef-strewn sea."

"A storm?"

"Yes, and a bad one, I expect. It will be pitch-dark directly."

"The fresh air will be welcome," said the doctor, calmly.

"Is the captain here?" said a voice at the state-room door--a voice speaking in anxious tones.

"Yes; what is it?" said the captain, quickly. "Come on deck, sir. It's rushing upon us like a great wall. Hear it?"

Doctor Kingsmead turned his face for a moment towards the door, to hear a peculiar dull distant roar, different from any sound with whi