Then he sprang on us, as the tiger leaps on his prey.

He had calculated well, for the blunt prow of the speeding keel-boat had struck us squarely, crushing in the sides of our frail craft, and flinging me headlong.
What had become the fate of the others I could not for the moment determine.

I could see little, with eyes scarcely above the surface, and struggling hard to breast the sweep of the current.

The darkness shadowed everything, the bulk of the keel-boat alone appearing in the distance, and that, shapelessly outlined.

The craft bore no light, and had it not been for a voice speaking, I doubt if I could have located even that.