Captain Vane saw the danger, and was equal to the occasion. There was little time for thought or action. Another moment and Alf would be off the beach into the sea.
"Let go! Alf; let go!" cried Leo, in an agony of alarm.
"No, no! hold on!" shouted the Captain.
Poor Alf could not help holding on. The turns of the line round his arm held him fast.
Another moment, and he was abreast of the Captain who sprang at him as he passed like a leopard on his prey and held on. But the pace was little checked with this additional weight. It was beyond the Captain's running powers, and both he and Alf would have been thrown violently to the ground had it not happened that they had reached the water, into which they plunged with a tremendous splash. They were dragged through it, however, only fo
