For a moment the lascars and firemen hesitated. Then, as the ship shook and staggered as the bulkhead of No. 2 hold gave way, they surged in a living torrent into the out-swung boat, regardless of the revolver shots which the Acting Chief fired over their heads. Preston made no further attempt to restore order on the boat-deck. If the men disobeyed orders he was no longer responsible for their safety. He passed along until he came to a knot of comparatively amenable Madrasis, who had been gathered together by Anstey and two of the engineers. "Right-o, old man!" exclaimed the Acting Chief to the Third Officer. "Lower away! You take command, and good luck to you." Quickly, yet with good discipline, the boat was manned and lowered--Anstey, the two engineers, and Mr. Shallop in the stern-sheets. "Keep in company, Mr. Anstey," shouted Preston, as the falls swung free. "Ay, ay, sir," was the reply, followed by the order: "give way." Anstey's boat was barely clear of the side when the first boat to be swung out was let go with a run. Greatly overcrowded, it struck the water with tremendous force. The impact broke her back, and in a moment she filled, leaving the frantic natives floundering in the water. Some were crushed as the sea flung the waterlogged craft against the ship's side. Others strove to clamber into the boat, only to destroy her slight buoyancy. In the melee knives were used with deadly effect, until only half a dozen men, who had swum clear of the boat, were left out of the thirty odd who had crowded into her. It had been both Preston's and Anstey's plan to get the women away first; but each had quickly realized that this was out of the question. For one thing, neither Mrs. Shallop nor Olive was on the boat-deck. For another, it was useless to attempt to place them in the boats until the panic-stricken mob was effectively dealt with. Two more boats, each under the charge of an engineer, and with three or four stewards, got away with difficulty. The crowd on the boat-deck had thinned considerably. "Now, then, where are the women?" demanded Preston. He was not altogether certain whether they had already got away, for, save for the less frequent flashes of lightning, the scene was in total darkness. "Here you are, Preston!" shouted a voice that the Acting Chief recognized as the Purser's. A bluish glare, a prolonged flash, enabled Preston to see the missing passengers. The Purser was literally dragging Mrs. Shallop along the deck, while Olive was close behind. For once Mrs. Shallop was silent. She was unconscious. "I wondered why she wasn't complaining that she was not being treated as a lady," thought Preston grimly. "That accounts for it." Together, the Acting Chief and the Purser unceremoniously bundled the insensible woman into the last boat but one on the port side. Those on the starboard were useless, for, owing to the excessive heel, they could not be lowered clear of the sloping side.