“If a regular tropical shower does come down, that will work the trick,” Tempest said. Almost as he spoke the patter of the rain drops increased. They got through the channel into the lagoon just in time before the shower became a drenching storm, blotting everything out of sight. “Now for it!” said Tempest. “Not a sound, boys!” CHAPTER XXI THE PARLEY As the keel grated on the beach they all sprang out. In spite of the danger they ran of being attacked any instant, Dave glowed with excitement at the idea of actually setting foot at last on the island. “What about the boat?” he said. “The tide is going down,” Tempest replied. “She’ll be all right for the present. Anyway, we can’t carry her.” They took the precaution of carrying an anchor ashore and digging it into the sand, and then drifted like shadows through the bushes. “Listen,” said Tempest, softly; “I took my bearings as well as possible, but we’re working very blindly in the dark. I want to make for that hill. We shall be safest there. It will be mighty rough going, and you must look out that you don’t break your necks. Stick together as much as you can. I grabbed a few biscuits before we left the boat. Goodness only knows when we shall get our next meal, but there’s no time to fool about with provisions now. Follow me, and don’t call out unless you’re in trouble.” The next hour was like a nightmare to all three of them. Only desperate necessity drove them forward. Behind lay the possibility of being shot; somewhere in front stood a hill, the nature of which was unknown to them. Their only hope was to find some crevice which would not only provide shelter from the torrential rain, but also form a sort of stronghold. In broad daylight their task would not have been so difficult, but the darkness was intense, and Tempest had to feel his way with nothing to guide him toward his goal except memory, which was fast becoming confused in the maze of tangled undergrowth. So long as the ground seemed to be rising, Tempest felt fairly confident in spite of the baffling conditions, but at length, when he stumbled into a gully and scrambled out, thankful that no bones were broken, he had to confess himself beaten. He no longer knew north from south, east from west. He had tried to force a passage through an impenetrable cluster of trees and had utterly lost his sense of direction while turning and twisting. On consulting the others he found them equally befogged. Even the Kanaka could only guess in which direction the hill lay, and an incorrect guess might prove dangerous. “Well, here we are, and here we’ll stop for the present,” said Tempest. “I fancy the rain is easing off a trifle. There isn’t much fear of Flagg prowling around in this particular spot with his pop-gun till it gets lighter, so we are safe as far as he is concerned. The moment we get a glimmer of the moon we can push on.”