“That you go to the mainland, Bert—or to the peninsula, whichever the boat happens to be headed for—and bring me back some gas.”
“You mean leave you two girls here alone?” he asked. “It’ll mean all night—before I can get back.”
“Yes. Why not? We’ll be safe, unless a shark comes to shore and bites us. But for goodness’ sake, don’t forget us!”
“I’ll never forget you,” replied the young man solemnly.
The life-boat had reached the island by this time, and two men jumped out and leaped to shore.
“This is wonderful of you!” cried Dot. “We certainly are grateful.”
“Glad to do it,” replied one of the men, a big, brawny sailor. “But do tell me what that thing is.” He pointed to the autogiro. “It looks like a plane, but I never seen a plane like that before.”
“It’s an autogiro,” explained Chase. “And we ran out of gas—almost dropped down in the Gulf.... So, if you can take me to shore, I’d like to get some and bring it back here.”
“Sure,” replied the man. “But what about the ladies?”
“We’ve decided to stay here,” replied Dot. “At least, if you can supply us with some food to keep us till tomorrow morning. We’re nearly starved.”