With such thoughts I ran along the cliff to the pathway that led down to
the beach; and as I ran, I saw Jackson running before me, not steadily
or rightly, but heavily, and swaying from side to side as he went.
Quickly I passed him, but he gave no sign that he knew any one was near
him; and as I leaped down on to the first ledge of rock below me, I saw
that he was not following me, but had disappeared among the brushwood.
When I got down to the beach, I found that the boat's crew had reached
the shore in safety, but of the two passengers nothing had been seen.
The capsized boat was sometimes visible as it lifted on the rollers,
but through my glass I saw that no one was clinging to it. I called for
Sooka, but Sooka was missing. Every one had seen him land, but he had
disappeared mysteriously. In vain I questioned the other boys as to the
cause of the disaster. The only answer I could get out of them was an
appeal to look to the sea and judge for myself. The woman was a
white woman from the big ship, was all they could say about her; and,
negro-like, they evidently considered the loss of a woman or so of very
little consequence.
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