“Yas, sah, right away, sah!”
There was a creaking of ropes and the rumble of a plank being hauled across the deck.
“Excuse me,” spoke the one who had been called Rose, addressing the three boys and the professor. “Won’t you come aboard out of the wet?”
“Thank you, I believe we will,” answered Jerry, and, as the plank which the negro thrust out touched the bank Jerry stepped on it, followed by his chums and Mr. Snodgrass. A moment later they were under the shelter of the houseboat, standing at the entrance to a snug little cabin, in which were three young ladies and an elderly gentleman.
“Glad to welcome you,” said the man. “My name is Nathan Seabury. These are my daughters, Rose, Nellie and Olivia,” indicating each one in turn. “We are traveling about on this houseboat. The girls pretend it is for my health, but I strongly suspect it is for their own.”
“Now father!” exclaimed Olivia, whom Jerry decided was the prettiest of the three, “you know you’re not well, and it’s time for your medicine.”
“Not until morning, young lady!” and Mr. Seabury winked at the professor.
“Allow me to introduce myself and these boys,” spoke Mr. Snodgrass, handing out a card, inscribed with his name and the initials of the various societies to which he belonged. Then he gave the names of the boys, and briefly told of their travels.
“We started from Kissimmee City about two weeks ago,” explained Mr. Seabury, “and we have been drifting slowly along ever since, enjoying life here. Last night the small motor, which serves to propel our boat at a moderate speed, broke. We anchored but the rope must have slipped, for the first thing we knew we were adrift in the storm. Then we hit this place, and—well, here we are.”
“This is an island,” said Jerry. “We camped here for the night, but the storm woke us up and—”