Short as had been the time occupied in the operation, the vessels had drifted farther into the bay. Now came the tug of war. The hawsers being secured, the _Gauntlet_, with all her boilers at full pressure, steamed ahead. Jack kept his eye on the shore, anxiously watching what way was made; both hawsers were at full stretch; though the screw was exerting all its power, yet the vessels scarcely seemed to move onwards. Higson, who was looking out at the other side, was unusually grave; anxious as he was to assist Adair, he thought that Jack had no business to venture into his present position. "If anything goes, we are done for," he muttered to himself; "she doesn't move an inch ahead." Jack thought the same; he sent for the chief engineer to ascertain if more pressure could be put on the engines. "They will not stand it--they are doing their utmost, sir," was the answer. Still, Jack was determined not to abandon Adair. On board the brig the hands were still aloft sending down topgallant-masts. Jack hoped against hope that the gale would decrease, and that he should then be able to tow Adair out of the bay; if he once weathered the headland, the brig might stand away on a bowline and gain the offing--but within the bay she lost, each time she tacked, more ground than she had gained. Clouds were gathering thickly in the sky; down came a deluge of rain, such as is only known in the tropics, like a thick veil of mist obscuring the brig astern. The water lay deep on the decks before it had time to run off; all sight of the shore was completely shut out. As the steamer plunged into the sea, tugging away at the tow-ropes, Jack could not help believing that she must be going ahead; on and on she went--the rain showed no sign of ceasing. "It must come to an end, at last!" exclaimed Jack, trying to peer through it at the shore, the dim outline alone of which he could distinguish. The lead was of course kept going, but as it reached the bottom, it scarcely ran out of the lead-man's hands. "She's going more astern than ahead!" he shouted at length. "Provided she doesn't go much astern, we must keep at it in the hopes of a lull," observed Jack to Higson. Another ten minutes passed. Various were the expressions of opinion on board; the midshipmen were sanguine that they would succeed. "My brother Jack has determined to do it, and he will do it," said Tom. "Suppose the hawsers were to carry away?" said Archie. "There are two of them; if one doesn't hold, the other may," answered Desmond.