Not long after, the sail was run down and the junk slowly urged forward by means of the sweeps.  I felt it ground gently on the soft mud.  Three of the Chinese—­they all wore long sea-boots—­got over the side, and the other two passed me across the rail.  With Yellow Handkerchief at my legs and his two companions at my shoulders, they began to flounder along through the mud.  After some time their feet struck firmer footing, and I knew they were carrying me up some beach.  The location of this beach was not doubtful in my mind.  It could be none other than one of the Marin Islands, a group of rocky islets which lay off the Marin County shore.

When they reached the firm sand that marked high tide, I was dropped, and none too gently.  Yellow Handkerchief kicked me spitefully in the ribs, and then the trio floundered back through the mud to the junk.  A moment later I heard the sail go up and slat in the wind as they drew in the sheet.  Then silence fell, and I was left to my own devices for getting free.

I remembered having seen tricksters writhe and squirm out of ropes with which they were bound, but though I writhed and squirmed like a good fellow, the knots remained as hard as ever, and there was no appreciable slack.  In the course of my squirming, however, I rolled over upon a heap of clam-shells—­the remains, evidently, of some yachting party’s clam-bake.  This gave me an idea.  My hands were tied behind my back; and, clutching a shell in them, I rolled over and over, up the beach, till I came to the rocks I knew to be there.

Rolling around and searching, I finally discovered a narrow crevice, into which I shoved the shell.  The edge of it was sharp, and across the sharp edge I proceeded to saw the rope that bound my wrists.  The edge of the shell was also brittle, and I broke it by bearing too heavily upon it.  Then I rolled back to the heap and returned with as many shells as I could carry in both hands.  I broke many shells, cut my hands a number of times, and got cramps in my legs from my strained position and my exertions.

While I was suffering from the cramps, and resting, I heard a familiar halloo drift across the water.  It was Charley, searching for me.  The gag in my mouth prevented me from replying, and I could only lie there, helplessly fuming, while he rowed past the island and his voice slowly lost itself in the distance.

I returned to the sawing process, and at the end of half an hour succeeded in severing the rope.  The rest was easy.  My hands once free, it was a matter of minutes to loosen my legs and to take the gag out of my mouth.  I ran around the island to make sure it was an island and not by any chance a portion of the mainland.  An island it certainly was, one of the Marin group, fringed with a sandy beach and surrounded by a sea of mud.  Nothing remained but to wait till daylight and to keep warm; for it was a cold, raw night for California, with just enough wind to pierce the skin and cause one to shiver.