Book Description

The coral reefs, which in various shapes and sizes stud the Southern seas, are sometimes renderedalmost unapproachable by the immense waves which fall upon them. Even in the calmest weatherthese huge breakers may be seen falling with prolonged roar on the beach. The lightest undulationon the sea, which might almost escape observation away from land, takes the form of a grand, quietbillow as it draws near to an islet or reef, and finally, coming majestically on, like a wall of rollingcrystal, breaks the silence suddenly by its thunderous fall, and gives to the sands a temporary fringeof pure white foam.To ride in on the crest of one such roller on a piece of board and leap upon the shore, is a featpeculiar to South Sea islanders, who are trained to the water from earliest infancy. To do the samething in a small boat, without oars, without strength, without experience, almost without courage, isa feat that no South Sea islander would attempt, and the necessity for performing which might causethe hair of any islander's head to stand on end.That Dominick Rigonda's hair did not stand on end, as he sat there with pale cheeks andcompressed lips, was probably due to the fact that he had thrust his straw hat tightly down on hisbrows.As the boat drew nearer to the reef, both Pauline and Otto had risen, in the strength of their heartymeal, and were now seated on the thwarts of the boat. Their brother had selected the thickest floorplank, and cut it roughly into the form of an oar with a clasp-knife. He now sat with it over thestern, sculling gently-very gently, however, for he reserved the little strength that remained to himfor the critical moment.The undulations of the sea, which had rocked them hitherto so softly, had by that time assumed adecided form and force, so that the boat rose on the oily back of each billow that passed under it, and slid back into a watery hollow, to be relifted by each successive wave