Instinctively, he took a long breath and held it, closing his mouth that had been opened preparatory to shouting further directions to Mr. Damon about reversing the craft. Down into the depths sank Tom, while the _Gull_, whose speed was not slackened, slued around from her impact on the rock and shot off on a tangent in a direction directly opposite from that taken by the _Turtle_, the boat containing the three roughly attired men and that silent, wrapped figure in the bottom—a figure that was supposed to be Ned Newton. “Bless my steamship ticket!” yelled Mr. Damon, “where’s Tom?” “Overboard!” yelled the tramp. “And I can’t swim!” “Me get him!” shouted Koku, peeling off his coat preparatory to a dive over the side. “Stay where you are!” came the stern command from the other boat which had circled around and was now headed for the place where Tom Swift’s head appeared in the watery circles caused by his plunge. “We’ll drill the first man that goes overboard!” Two of the rascals stood in the bow with leveled weapons, while the third was steering the boat straight toward Tom. “They’re going to ram him!” gasped the tramp. He did not seem capable of doing anything to help, and Koku, being now without a weapon, was of no service. Mr. Damon had laid aside his pistol to work the reverse lever and, even if he could have recovered it, there was a question as to his ability to use it. Thus fate favored the rascals, and Mr. Damon and his two companions were forced to see themselves being carried farther and farther away from the _Turtle_ as the _Gull_, whose engine was still running, headed away from the rocks. Apparently little damage had been done by striking the obstruction. From a distance Mr. Damon, the tramp, and the giant watched to see what would happen to Tom Swift. At first it seemed as though he was going to be run down by the unprincipled men in the _Turtle_. But they had other plans in mind and, reaching the swimming inventor, the two men in the bow reached over, grasped him, and pulled him in. He could not fight back, and, indeed, having gone overboard with all his clothes on, was having a hard struggle to keep afloat. Rescue, even at the hands of the enemy, was welcome. “They’ve got him!” gasped Mr. Damon. “We go take him away!” growled Koku. “Make boat go odder way, Mr. Damon—we get Master Tom.” “I—I’m afraid I don’t know how to operate this craft,” confessed the eccentric man. “I might run it back on the rocks.” Once Tom was hauled, dripping wet, aboard the _Turtle_, the boat was put about and went speeding off and away from the _Gull_ which, to tell the truth, was headed back toward her own dock. Tom, as he was pulled over the side, had a glimpse of the _Gull_ going back where she came from. He remembered that neither Mr. Damon nor Koku could operate the craft without some one along to advise them, and the young inventor had doubts about the tramp’s navigating ability in the emergency.