Then followed a mad race for the canoe. The natives came on, kicking up clouds of sand in their furious haste, shouting and brandishing long knives; while I, panting and sweating, with my heart pounding like a steam-hammer, staggered forward jingling like a team of sleigh-horses. At last I reached the canoe, and, flinging in the manillas, threw down the second pair of lines ahead, stood on them that they should not wash away, and slipping a roller under the forefoot of the canoe, dragged her on to it. Instantly she began to move forward with such weight that I could hardly hold her back. But the waves were, for the moment, small, and barely reached over my ankles; so I slipped another roller under her stem, and eased her slightly forward. A glance to seaward showed me a great comber just about to break. A glance ashore revealed a dozen men, not a hundred yards distant, racing wildly forward, shouting and flourishing knives and matchets. A boom from the sea and a yell from the land came simultaneously to my ears. The wave had broken, and its shattered fragments came driving forward in a snowy, roaring avalanche, but so slowly, that the men were almost upon me before I felt it boil up around my feet. Then I let go, and the canoe rumbled down with gathering momentum, and as her bow plunged into the foam, I leaped into the well and snatched up the paddle. With such weight did she fly down the slope, that she hardly checked when she met the on-rushing flood, but swam clear into the seething brine, and moved steadily forward. The men were close behind, and I could hear them splashing into the water as I wildly plied my paddle. The water paused in its movement for a few brief seconds, and I waited to know my fate. Then, with a resounding roar, the great mass swept back in the undertow, hurling the canoe forward with breathless velocity. I had just time to pull the apron round me when there came a crashing shock, a thump on my chest, and a blinding cataract of spray. She had dived into the recoil wave, and for a moment I thought she had gone under; but as the water streamed off my face, I saw that her weight had carried her through the wave. Breathless as I was, I plied my paddle vigorously to avoid being flung back on to the beach, and steered cautiously towards the surf.