It was the last two steps that troubled him most.  In order to keep the men covered with the pistol he had to bend far down, and he knew that when he could no longer bend far enough the danger would come.  But he solved it by straightening up suddenly and taking two steps at a leap.  He heard shouts and oaths, and the report of a pistol, but the bullet was as futile as the cries.  He slammed down the grating, fastened it in an instant, ran to the low rail and swiftly lowered himself and his pack over it and into the sand.  Then he ran for the bushes.

Robert did not waste his breath.  Having managed the affair of the grating, he knew that he was safe for the present.  So, when he reached the higher bushes, he stopped, well hidden by them, and looked back.  In two or three minutes the captain and the two men appeared on the deck, and he laughed quietly to himself.  He could see that their faces were contorted by rage.  They could follow his trail some distance at least in the sand, but he knew that they would be cautious.  He had shown them his quality and they would fear an ambush.

He was justified in his opinion, as they remained on the deck, evidently searching for a glimpse of him among the bushes, and, after watching them a little while, he set out inland, bearing his burden of weapons and food, and laughing to himself at the manner in which he had made the captain serve him.  He felt now that the score between them was even, and he was willing to part company forever.

Youth and success had an enormous effect upon him.  When one triumph was achieved his vivid temperament always foresaw others.  Willet had often called him the child of hope, and hope is a powerful factor in victory.  Now it seemed to him for a little while that his own rescue, achieved by himself, was complete.  He had nothing to do but to return to New York and his friends, and that was just detail.

He swung along through the bushes, forgetting the burden of his weapons and his pack of food.  In truth, he swaggered a bit, but it was a gay and gallant swagger, and it became him.  He walked for some distance, feeling that he had been changed from a seaman into a warrior, and then from a warrior into an explorer, which was his present character.  But he did not see at present the variety and majesty that all explorers wish to find.  The country continued low, the same alternation of sand and salt marsh, although the bushes were increasing in size, and they were interspersed here and there with trees of some height.

Reaching the crest of a low hill he took his last look backward, and was barely able to see the upper works of the stranded schooner.  Then he thought of the captain and his exuberant spirits compelled him to laugh aloud.  With the chances a hundred to one against him he had evened the score.  While he had been compelled to serve the captain, the captain in turn had been forced to serve him.  It was enough to make a sick man well, and to turn despair into confidence.  He was in very truth and essence the child of hope.