[CHAPTER VI]
BAD NEWS
“What’s the matter, Bob?” yelled Jerry, when his stout chum was near enough to hear above the roar of the wind. “You look worried!”
“I am!” was the answer. “She’s adrift! Come on down and make her fast or she’ll pound to pieces on the rocks!”
“Are you talking about that ship your uncle is supposed to be coming over on?” asked Ned in surprise.
“No! I never thought of them until just now!” panted Bob, coming to a pause. “They are out in this storm, though; aren’t they? I wonder if they’re safe?”
“Then you didn’t mean them?” asked Jerry, who had, by this time, managed to slip the leader pipe into place.
“No, I was speaking about our motor boat!” cried Bob. “Sud Snuffles just yelled at me, as he rushed past our house, that she had chafed through the mooring ropes and was going down stream. Isn’t this an awful storm, though?”
“I should say so!” cried Jerry. “But we’ve got to get busy! Come on, fellows. We don’t want our boat smashed!”
Calling to his mother to let her know where he was going, Jerry led the way, Bob and Ned following through the storm. They had recently purchased a new racing motor boat, in addition to the larger one they used for cruising and general work, and as Bob splashed through the mud and water beside Jerry he informed his tall chum that it was this boat, according to the hasty description of Sud Snuffles (a curious town character), that had gone adrift in the storm.
“That’s too bad!” cried Jerry. “She’s not built for much rough work, and it won’t take much to damage her. I hope she hasn’t gone too far down stream.”