"’Up dogs!’ he cried ’There is no danger. I shall steer; and it is necessary that we go. If any would remain, let them depart now, with no tale to tell. Let those who stay prepare at once for sea’ "Not a man made a move to go; the presence and voice of the master had reassured them. Without another word, they rose and filed on board. "I found Wilbur beside me. ’What is this madness, Nichols?’ he demanded for the last time ’Are you fool enough to go on the water in that craft? What has that lunatic been saying to the men?—I don’t understand their damned lingo’ "’He told his crew to prepare for sea’ I answered shortly ’If he goes, we all go. He says there is no danger’ "’Huh! You’re a bigger fool than I took you for’ "A moment later we stood together on the quarter-deck of the cruising sampan. Lee Fu took his station at the great tiller, that archaic steering arrangement worked by blocks and tackles which the Chinese cherish like the precepts of Confucius in the face of mechanical invention. The wind lulled for a moment, as the trough of a squall passed over. Lee Fu gave a few sharp orders. Moorings were cast off, a pinch of sail was lifted forward. The big craft found her freedom with a lurch and a stagger; then pulled herself together and left the land with a steady rush, skimming dead before the wind across the smooth weather reach of the harbour, and quickly losing herself in the murk and spray that hung off Gowloon Point. If we were sighted from the fleet, which is extremely doubtful, we were put down as a junk that had broken adrift. Somehow Lee Fu managed to avoid the ships at anchor off Wanchi. Straight down the length of the bay he struck; in an incredibly short time we had left the harbour behind, and were whirling through the narrow gut of Lymoon Pass before a terrific squall, bound for the open sea. "I watched Captain Wilbur. He stood in a careless attitude at the rail in our race down the harbour, scanning the boat and the water with an air of confidence and unconcern. A slight sneer curled his lip; he had made up his mind to see the nonsense through. The sailor in him had quickly recognized that the craft would stand the weather, so long as she remained in quiet water. Probably he expected every minute that Lee Fu would change his tactics and put into some sheltered cove.... But when we shot through Lymoon Pass, I saw him turn and scrutinize the Chinaman closely. Darkness was falling behind the murk, the real night now; ahead of us lay a widening reach among the islands, that opened abruptly on the main body of the China Sea. We were rapidly leaving the protection of Victoria Island. Soon we should be unable to see our way. Ten miles outside a high sea was running. And with every blast of wind that held in the same quarter, the centre of the typhoon was bearing down on us with unerring aim.